Florida State University's annual Art in STEM exhibition, now in Dirac Science Library and online, is celebrating its 11th year showcasing the unique research and artistic talents of FSU students and postdoctoral researchers in science, technology, engineering and math disciplines.
This year's edition of the annual exhibition, a collaboration among FSU's Graduate Women in STEM organization (GWIS), the FSU College of Arts and Sciences and FSU Libraries, features 26 artworks created by students representing ecology, neuroscience, solid-state chemistry, deep-sea biology, geology, biomedical sciences and more.
On Friday, Sept. 19 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., the FSU community is invited to enjoy an opening reception and vote for their favorite piece at Dirac or submit votes online. The people's choice award winner will be announced at 4 p.m.
"The Art in STEM exhibition provides STEM majors with an opportunity to showcase their research as well as their artistic expression, a side that isn't typically highlighted in STEM fields," said Kaylie Green, 2025-2026 GWIS president and a doctoral student in biomathematics.
The artists - undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral scholars - used a variety of techniques to capture and create their works, such as watercolor, scanning electron microscopes, cameras and digital design programs.
"The exhibition brings to light the often-overlooked artistic side of research and innovation. What excites me most is seeing how each artist interprets their work visually, offering new perspectives on STEM through their own discipline's lenses."
- Arunima Mandal, former GWIS president and a doctoral student in computer science
"The exhibition brings to light the often-overlooked artistic side of research and innovation," said Arunima Mandal, former GWIS president and a doctoral student in computer science. "What excites me most is seeing how each artist interprets their work visually, offering new perspectives on STEM through their own discipline's lenses."
Maya Roselli, who graduated from the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science with a master's degree in geological sciences in August, is among this year's featured artists. Her photo, "Life in Technicoral," showcases the vibrant colors of the now-extinct colonial rugose coral as seen under a microscope.
"This piece depicts one of the thin section samples I used while teaching an invertebrate paleontology lab," said Roselli, presently a doctoral student in the Department of Geoscience at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. "The bright colors seen in the photo come from the mineralogy of the specimen, likely calcite. Calcite is one of my favorite minerals because when it's viewed using a petrographic microscope under cross-polarized light, the mineral shows up as a beautiful rainbow of colors."
Roselli's research at FSU focused on geochemistry and paleontology and investigated the fossils of soft-bodied organisms from the Devonian period, around 380 million years ago. She used geochemistry to uncover the chemical composition of the environment at the time these fossils formed. Roselli also served as a teaching assistant for an environmental science capstone course and as an invertebrate paleontology lab instructor. She photographed "Life in Technicoral" using a petrographic microscope, a technique shown to her by one of her students.
"My favorite part of Art in STEM is taking the time to appreciate the beauty in the work we do as scientists. It's easy to get caught up in the stress of knowing there's always more work to be done. Taking time to step back and appreciate how amazing and beautiful our work is helps put everything into perspective and renews my passion for what I do."
- Maya Roselli, graduate of the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science
"My favorite part of Art in STEM is taking the time to appreciate the beauty in the work we do as scientists," Roselli said. "It's easy to get caught up in the stress of knowing there's always more work to be done. Taking time to step back and appreciate how amazing and beautiful our work is helps put everything into perspective and renews my passion for what I do."
The exhibition's decade of success has sparked interest in students outside of STEM disciplines, including those majoring in media and communication studies and English, in creating scientific works. For Mandal, seeing the variety of work from a range of disciplines and backgrounds serves as a reminder that analytical and imaginative thinking are deeply connected.
"This event is more than just an art display. It's a reminder that STEM isn't isolated from human expression," Mandal said. "Science is about storytelling, emotion and connection just as much as it is about formulas and data."
