VCU news

By Leila Ugincius

Sirena Pearl, a sophomore painting and printmaking student in the Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, has won The Science Coalition’s fifth annual Fund It Forward Student Video Challenge for undergraduates.

Students at coalition member institutions were asked to create a video explaining their personal connection to fundamental research and why Congress should continue to invest in the partnership between federal research agencies and their university counterparts.

In her winning video, Pearl spoke about the urban heat island effect, one of the many environmental issues that highlights the acceleration of climate change.

“Asphalt in urban areas increases temperatures locally creating a much hotter environment than suburban and rural areas that hold more vegetation,” she said.

With funding from VCU’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, Pearl painted a large-scale mural on campus that represents the urban heat island effect. In a true alliance between art and science, Pearl depicted the effect both figuratively and literally by using special materials.

“VCU is exceptionally proud of Sirena and her truly innovative cross-disciplinary work melding art and science,” said VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D. “By helping diverse audiences understand complex issues that impact us all, her work speaks to VCU’s mission as a public research university dedicated to advancing the human condition and pursuing discoveries that make a difference in our communities.”

The mural’s two opposing figures represent how the community can contribute either to the solution or the problem. The figure representing a sustainable city is shown with a relaxed posture and is painted with solar-reflective materials, while the urban heat island avatar — sweating and in pain — is painted with heat-absorbing reflective materials. A thermal infrared camera captures the temperature differences.

“I incorporated the painting’s narrative and visual temperature to allow the viewer to determine what factors can cool or heat urban areas,” Pearl said. “This visual access to knowledge can share solutions in accessible format to global communities experiencing the risks associated with the urban heat island effect.”

The Science Coalition is a nonpartisan nonprofit of more than 50 of the nation’s leading public and private research universities. Established in 1994, it advocates for the federal government’s investment in basic scientific research to benefit the economy, innovation and global competitiveness.

“Federal support for fundamental research provides opportunities to collect and share vital data that we will need to solve and communicate these complex environmental risks,” Pearl said.