At first glance, the picture propped up against James LeBeau’s office wall resembled a sort of intricate optical illusion, but the strictly ordered and symmetrical image was actually that of an atom, a detailed and magnified picture of something completely invisible to the naked eye.
LeBeau, a materials science professor at NC State, showcased some of his research through a special exhibit at the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science. The exhibit features a collection of detailed atomic structures captured through a scanning transmission electron microscope.
These images are displayed as 24-by-24 inch square metal prints mounted on metal posts. The photos are also accompanied with information about their respective, magnified compounds and the material’s role in society.
“Together we created labels that connect the atomic images to images and concepts that are familiar to viewers,” said Jennifer Armstrong, the environmental graphic designer at the Museum of Life and Science. “We hope that our viewers leave with a better understanding of the subject.”
The exhibit can be visited in the Terrace Gallery of the Museum of Life and Science until Sunday. It will then be transported to NC State and can be viewed in the Crafts Center beginning Feb. 15.
Though the exhibit is new to the public, LeBeau has been capturing and storing atomic resolution images over the past 10 years. He began studying electron microscopy, the use of an electron microscope that uses a beam of electrons to produce an image in greater detail, as an undergraduate. Now part of his research focuses on using electron microscopy to help understand the connection between atomic structure and the properties of different materials such as superconductors, ceramic materials, metals and semiconductors.
“When you’re looking at a small part of any material you pretty much never see the same thing twice,” LeBeau said. “There’s a lot of variation at that level, and I very quickly realized the connection with art, especially when you look at these images where there’s this innate symmetry in many materials that calls out to different parts of the brain that are both left and right sided.”
The project started after LeBeau realized the impact that the images had on people who were not in science. He first began simply showing the atomic resolution images to friends and family who were almost always taken aback with the fact that they were seeing atoms.
“A large portion of the population doesn’t even know that we can see atoms,” LeBeau said. “So this really opened up a new world of insight to a lot of people who didn’t know that we could see atoms or didn’t know that the structures could be this complicated or this beautiful.”
After first recognizing the symmetrical beauty and complexity himself and then seeing it ignite other people’s understanding and interest in science at the atomic level, LeBeau decided to try creatively displaying the images to enhance the communication of his research to the public. Although LeBeau had a passion for science since he was a child, he also appreciated and even practiced some art as well. In high school, he had an interest in web design, and his early practice with graphic art, such as Photoshop, helped him develop the creative outreach of his research. He believes that including the innate art of the atoms with his research will appeal to a broader audience.
“I didn’t really want to put together another typical STEM outreach effort,” LeBeau said. “This is part of the STEAM outreach, which is putting the arts back into that equation. I don’t think it’s wise to take [art] out in the first place because if you start taking out the arts that really closes off a lot of people to the sciences that could make important contributions to science. I really do think that the arts have an important role to play in communicating science.”
The natural symmetrical organization of the images themselves is enough to be considered art, but LeBeau and his team add something even more interesting to the displays. When LeBeau captures the images, they are black and white because electrons don’t have color. The problem is that human eyes are poor at detecting shades of grey, and with the complex atomic structures, the eyes can lose much of the detail due to the lack of color. To solve this problem, LeBeau and his team decided to add color to highlight different parts of the image that might have gone undetected when seen in black and white.
LeBeau said that he always had a passion for science, but also for communicating science through art as well. He plans on continuing to collect atomic resolution images and display them on his website. He would also like to develop something wider reaching where people from all over can submit their own atomic resolution images.
LeBeau believes the images will be able to reach many more people in the future, but for now he said that if he can reach just a few people and open their eyes to the beautiful patterns and their connection with the properties of certain materials, then he will be happy with the impact of the images.
“Nature is a bit of an artist with these things and it can go much further,” LeBeau said. “We’re just getting started.”
A version of this article appeared in print on Nov. 17, 2016 with the headline:
“Atom art attracts audience.”
