Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences - School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics presents
THE BEAUTY OF SEEING THE UNSEEN: SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY FROM TELESCOPES TO MICROSCOPES
"I am among those who think that science has great beauty. A scientist in his laboratory is not only a technician: he is also a child placed before natural phenomena which impress him like a fairy tale."
– Marie Skłodowska Curie, The Future of Culture, 1933
Scientists across disciplines frequently report experiencing beauty, awe and wonder in their research, and these experiences are associated with greater career satisfaction and overall wellbeing. Research in education finds that the tendency to experience awe is positively associated with scientific thinking, interest in science and awareness of gaps in one’s knowledge, suggesting that opportunities to experience the beauty and awe of science benefit students as well as faculty. The act of discovery, and particularly the observation of something not visible in everyday life, serves as a powerful conduit for scientific awe, and the techniques that facilitate these observations produce images that are compelling and often beautiful. In this symposium, researchers from across the sciences will share snapshots of their work studying ordinarily unseen aspects of the natural world beneath our feet, inside our bodies and across the cosmos.
Panelists:
• Emily Barkley-Levenson, Associate Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience Program
“The Brain Sees Itself”
• J Bret Bennington, Professor of Geology
“The Beauty of Petrographic Thin Sections”
• Kevin Bisceglia, Associate Professor of Chemistry
“Seeing Previously Unseen Contaminants via High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry”
• Javier A. Izquierdo, Professor of Biology
“Infinite Beauty Underfoot: Soil Microbes and How They Could Save the Planet”
• Zeinab Nassrallah, Assistant Professor of Science Education, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
“The Vagus Nerve: Not All Who Wander Are Lost”
• Sabrina Sobel, Professor of Chemistry
“Order out of Chaos: Making Patterns in Nature"
• Jason D. Williams, Donald E. Axinn Endowed Distinguished Professor in Ecology and Conservation at Hofstra University and Professor of Biology
“Revealing New Species and Novel Structures of Marine Parasites”
Moderator: Maureen Krause, Professor and Chair, Department of Biology
Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences - School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics presents
THE BEAUTY OF SEEING THE UNSEEN: SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY FROM TELESCOPES TO MICROSCOPES
"I am among those who think that science has great beauty. A scientist in his laboratory is not only a technician: he is also a child placed before natural phenomena which impress him like a fairy tale."
– Marie Skłodowska Curie, The Future of Culture, 1933
Scientists across disciplines frequently report experiencing beauty, awe and wonder in their research, and these experiences are associated with greater career satisfaction and overall wellbeing. Research in education finds that the tendency to experience awe is positively associated with scientific thinking, interest in science and awareness of gaps in one’s knowledge, suggesting that opportunities to experience the beauty and awe of science benefit students as well as faculty. The act of discovery, and particularly the observation of something not visible in everyday life, serves as a powerful conduit for scientific awe, and the techniques that facilitate these observations produce images that are compelling and often beautiful. In this symposium, researchers from across the sciences will share snapshots of their work studying ordinarily unseen aspects of the natural world beneath our feet, inside our bodies and across the cosmos.
Panelists:
• Emily Barkley-Levenson, Associate Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience Program
“The Brain Sees Itself”
• J Bret Bennington, Professor of Geology
“The Beauty of Petrographic Thin Sections”
• Kevin Bisceglia, Associate Professor of Chemistry
“Seeing Previously Unseen Contaminants via High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry”
• Javier A. Izquierdo, Professor of Biology
“Infinite Beauty Underfoot: Soil Microbes and How They Could Save the Planet”
• Zeinab Nassrallah, Assistant Professor of Science Education, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
“The Vagus Nerve: Not All Who Wander Are Lost”
• Sabrina Sobel, Professor of Chemistry
“Order out of Chaos: Making Patterns in Nature"
• Jason D. Williams, Donald E. Axinn Endowed Distinguished Professor in Ecology and Conservation at Hofstra University and Professor of Biology
“Revealing New Species and Novel Structures of Marine Parasites”
Moderator: Maureen Krause, Professor and Chair, Department of Biology
