Art of Science Judge: Lucia Carvelli

Meet Lucia Carvelli, Ph.D., first-time judge for the Division of Research Art of Science photography and videography contest, who said she recognizes the creativity in science that is not always so obvious.

“I believe the common element between science and art is creativity,” Carvelli said. “It is obvious that creativity is a must for an artist, but it is not so obvious for a scientist.” A scientist herself, Carvelli is an associate professor of neuroscience at the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College and an investigator at the Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute of Florida Atlantic University, where she leads an active research program. Her current research is focusing on addiction and neurological disorders and how the dopaminergic system interplays with them. This research requires precision, mental tenacity, and the ability to look at results from multiple angles.

“We are used to thinking about scientists as very precise people who perform their job with high levels of rigor,” she said. “This is true, but a great scientist needs to be a dreamer too, use her/his imagination. Only the combination of these two features ensures that what is seen as fiction today will become reality tomorrow. Leonardo da Vinci is a clear example of these two elements coming together.”

When Carvelli is not breaking down how drugs create addictions in the body, she said she channels her inner da Vinci by exercising her creative side through cooking and exercising.