Engineering Faculty’s Research Featured in UofM Art Museum

Making the connection between science and art

An art exhibition, titled Micro-Aesthetic, is currently on display at the Art Museum of the University of Memphis by Dr. Amir Hadadzadeh, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, whose research is in the field of advanced manufacturing and materials. This exhibition showcases some of his electron microscopy images taken during his postdoctoral fellow in Canada. These images possess both scientific and artistic features that can attract an audience beyond the scientific and engineering community. The artistic features include line, space and color.

Moving by the geometry of the metal structures, and examining their features, Hadadzadeh aims to tailor a connection between the nano- and micro-features* and the everyday-life patterns. Using his interest and insight, Hadadzadeh has realized that his microscopic images possess something beyond intellectual merit: aesthetic and artistic characteristics.

Abstract art can be interpreted and read in its very form - its shapes, colors and lines. According to Rothko, an American abstract painter, "art is an adventure into an unknown world." Inspired by Rothko, Hadadzadeh is trying to bring the unknown world of science to the adventurous world of art.

According to Hadadzadeh, “In this exhibition, I am trying to explore new avenues to disseminate my research outcome beyond the conventional approaches and expose a more general audience to them. I hope that the audience will observe the beauty of the scientific phenomena. My purpose is to make a connection between engineering, science and art and develop an interdisciplinary context.” 

These images were taken during the postdoctoral fellowship of Hadadzadeh at the University of New Brunswick and CanmetMATERIALS, Canada. The research was conducted in collaboration with Dr. Mohsen Mohammadi (University of New Brunswick) and Dr. Babak Shalchi Amirkhiz (CanmetMATERIALS). The images are under Crown Copyright.

For more information on his research, contact Hadadzadeh at hddzadeh@memphis.edu. The photo exhibition (Micro-Aesthetic) is in the Art Museum of the University of Memphis.

* A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter and a micrometer is one-millionth of a meter. Human hair thickness is about 100 micrometers.