Faces of Science: Photographer Mariana Cook

Renowned photographer Mariana Cook turns her camera on some of the greatest men and women of the scientific community in this intimate look at the people behind many of the great discoveries of our time.

The last protégé of Ansel Adams, Cook captures riveting portraits of people both in and out of the public eye which have been widely publicly exhibited.

The purpose of my book, Faces of Science, is to humanize scientists in a way not done before. In the texts that accompany each photograph, which they either wrote or edited from interviews I conducted with them, I asked them to speak of themselves. What kind of childhoods did they have? How did they first become interested in science? What psychological needs may have drawn them to and been satisfied by their work? Why did they choose their particular field of research? I also asked each of them to address a specific "scientific" question. In response, some concentrated more on the scientific query; others, on the personal. There is often a combination of the two. The portraits together with the texts offer a look into the humanity of an extraordinary group of people. Their intellectual curiosity, wish to help mankind, and ability to work with others to accomplish their tasks serve as a particular confluence of remarkable human qualities.
— Mariana Cook

A selection of Ms. Cook's photographs is on display at the Caltech Bookstore through November 23rd. A gallery of the photographs from the book is available online on the New York Academy of Sciences web site. [VIEW]

A booksigning will immediately follow the talk.

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