Since September 17, 2021, the new exhibition "Imaging Science - The Beauty of Science" can be seen in the Altana Gallery of the TU Dresden. For one month, the show brings together scientific images from the very different research areas of the cluster 'Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden' (cfaed), a central scientific institution of the TUD. The approximately 70 works on display are a selection from five years of the cluster-internal 'Scientific Image Contests' of the cfaed. In her opening speech, Prof. Ursula M. Staudinger, Rector of the TUD, emphasized the scientific achievements of the cluster and referred to the close relationship between science and art. The research group, led by Prof. Benjamin Friedrich (Physics of Life - PoL/cfaed), contributed a print of a diatom biomineral network taken by predoc Iaroslav Babenko (cfaed/PoL).
Heat-shimmering lava flows, an exotic blossom in an ultra-strong macro shot, gilded autumn leaves, sunny beach landscapes, or abstract mountains in a 3D rendering look: the initial associations with these images are highly diverse, often draw on familiar subjects - and are usually miles off the mark regarding the interpretation of what is depicted.
This effect is welcome and intentional. The scientific images from the many research areas of the Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden (cfaed) open up unfamiliar visual worlds that people outside the science community rarely get to see. The origins of the images are also extremely diverse: One can see images from the scanning electron microscope, artistic visualizations, rendered illustrations of data sets, and much more. Some of the images are purely scientific results, others are more or less "waste", actually very apt testimonies of classical scientific work: Trial and error. Some of the graphics were intentionally created from a purely aesthetic point of view, for example to show scientific correlations, or as an illustrative image of a research result, for example for the cover of a scientific journal.
In order to capture this visually rich and diverse power of images and make them visible (also) outside the scientific community, cfaed launched the 'Scientific Image Contests' in 2016. Open to all members and associated members of the cluster, the contest has since served annually as a competition and marketplace of the most beautiful visual (by-)products of their research.
This year the cfaed is already celebrating the fifth edition of the contest. There are now over 300 submissions in the database. Many of the earlier contributions adorn the corridors of the new building on the Barkhausen site and the DCN laboratory building as large-format prints. A selection can also be found on the cfaed's Instagram channel. For the first time, the works are presented in an exhibition at the Altana Gallery of the TU Dresden, which is a special highlight in the history of the image contests.
Exhibition period: September 20 - October 22, 2021
Opening Hours: Monday - Friday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Location: TU Dresden, Görges-Bau, Helmholtzstraße 9, 01069 Dresden
Media inquiries:
TU Dresden, Center for Advancing Electronics Dresden
Matthias Hahndorf
Science Communication
+49 (0)351 463 42847
matthias.hahndorf@tu-dresden.de
TU Dresden, Kustodie
Lena Ludwig-Hartung
Public Relations
+49 351 463-44386
lena.ludwig-hartung@tu-dresden.de