LIFE & CULTURE 6A | MONDAY, MAY 2, 2016 | WWW.DAILYILLINI.COM
ANGELA KERNDL THE DAILY ILLINI
Champaign’s Gallery 217 held an exhibition called Art of Science 6.0 to honor six years of common ground between science and art, Thusday through Sunday.
BY AISHWARYA RAJ STAFF WRITER
On the corner of Walnut Street and University Avenue in downtown Champaign, in the same area where former art gallery indi go Co-Op used to be, lies Gallery 217. This past Friday, the gallery was fi lled with artwork spanning the walls of both its floors as well as the people responsible for these illustrations. Nothing was unusual about the people or the artwork except for the fact that these artists were in fact scientists — genomic scientists to be specific — and the artwork were pictures taken from their research. This event was known as "Art of Science 6.0," and the idea behind it was to merge
both science and art to show genomic research is just as vividly captivating as the masterpieces lining the walls of modern art museums. This is the sixth year that the event has been running but the fi rst year that it has been held at Gallery 217. According to Mandy Danowitz, gallery manager, the idea was a novel concept to her because this is her fi rst time managing it, and she has been running the gallery since July. She said the event was “a feast for the soul and a feast for the mind.” To her, one of the unique aspects of this type of art show is that it bridged the aesthetic of art pieces with the scientific meaning and research behind them. Every piece in the showcase was a part of different
ongoing research investigations at Institute for Genomic Biology. One such piece was titled “Green Revolutions” by artist Dr. Amy Marshall-Colon, assistant professor in the Department of Plant Biology, who is heading the research on plant genes, specifically regarding gene expression and how genes react to environmental cues, such as light and nitrogen availability. When asked about the creative process as well as the methodology behind her art, she responded, “Color and shape are hugely important when we’re making these network models.” “I can use different shapes and different colors to categorize these different kinds of genes, and that helps me when I have a network of 800
to a 1,000 genes," MarshallColon said. "This also helps me zero in on certain molecules for further study.” To make these visual models, Marshall-Colon uses a free computer program called Cytoscape. She takes raw gene expression and feeds the numbers into Cytoscape, which then generates the visual networks that are depicted in her art piece. Courtney Cox, outreach and activities manager at IGB, also added that the goal of this program was to bring the science and research that is being done at the Institute into the community to get community members interested in the scientific problems the researchers are investigating. Every year, the "Art of Science" event evolves a little
bit more, and this year, it incorporated images from an entirely new set of research as well as the new microscopy which is an addition to the Genomic Institute. One common theme that stays the same from year to year is that the images incorporate genomes in some shape or form. “Anything living has a genome and that can be studied and we’ll have anything from plant cells to spider silk to even kidney stones,” Cox said. The show ran from Friday, April 29 to Sunday, May 1, after which the artwork will travel to places around the local community, such as Research Park, the Alumni Center and Willard Airport.
araj6@dailyillini.com
SafeRides: Not a free taxi service BY RACHEL LENOCI CONTRIBUTING WRITER
The Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District has provided more than 32,450 SafeRides to the community since July 1, 2015. The service was created in 1989 when the University and MTD teamed up to make late-night transportation available to students on campus. Before then, SafeRides was originally called WomanRides, which was a similar service that was operated by women, for women. Today, the service is a door-to-door transportation system free to both men and women on campus. Citizens of the C-U area can also use this service, provided they pay a fee of $1 and are in the SafeRide boundaries. Many students who try to use the system will be rejected if they are near a
bus route. “I want people to use SafeRides if the buses aren’t going to take them there, if they're by themselves," said Amy Snyder, customer service manager for MTD. "I don’t want people using SafeRides when they’re a block away from a bus and they’re going to a dorm." SafeRides is very time consuming because of its drop-off system, making it difficult for them to care for everyone in a timely manner. This is why they encourage students to use the bus system. “What I’m concerned about is the expectations people have," Snyder said. "The service is called SafeRides. It’s not called 'FastRides,' and people get frustrated with how long they’re on the van." Even though some users
may get irritated with the time it takes to get home, Snyder said SafeRides is well-promoted and used. Students have even asked for more SafeRide services when the contract between the University and Champaign-Urbana MTD got renewed. While the number of SafeRides being used seems high, many students have not used the free service because it seems inconvenient. “I haven’t really needed to. I usually just take the bus or walk,” said Rachel Magnus, junior in Media. “I think it’s good to have for people that feel unsafe using Ubers or buses.” Farya Haider, freshman in LAS, said she would use SafeRides but has never had the need. “I defi nitely think it’s a
good program," Haider said. "It’s really reliable, and it’s necessary sometimes in situations that you might not expect yourself to be in or just a time when you don’t have any other method of transportation." Students should not regard SafeRides as a free taxi service; instead, they should use it when they need help. Taking advantage of this transportation system could be taking away from someone on campus who actually needs a SafeRide. “I think students should take SafeRides to maintain their safety and keep the campus safe," Snyder said. "Nobody should be in a situation where they feel vulnerable." SafeRides covers the campus area, including areas where graduate students live and pockets of campus
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MICHELLE TAM THE DAILY ILLINI
need of a SafeRide should call (217) 265-7433 and provide their names, numbers and locations.
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