In universities today, there seems to be a definite distinction between the arts and STEM fields. All too often, we think of them as inherently separate – the oil and water of the modern university. However, in Rowan’s Westby Hall, there is one student organization leading the charge to bridge the gap between the two, and helping Rowan students grow both as artists and as scientists.

The Biomedical Art and Visualization Club is a club primarily dedicated to bringing visibility and awareness to the biomedical art and visualization (BMAV) major. Additionally, the club also seeks to build a community around biomedical art at Rowan.

Biomedical art, while not the traditional paintings and sculptures that may come to mind when one thinks of what majoring in an art field brings universally covers a wide range of science-related subjects.

“Biomedical art is basically all of your STEM aspects together,” said BMAV Club President Zoe Marino. “It’s a very versatile degree, it sounds very specific, but once you learn more about it, there’s so many different paths you can go down.”

She went on to explain the diverse range of subjects various BMAV students are focusing on through their education – from colorful illustrations of organs and cells straight out of biology textbooks to technical diagrams of machinery to aid engineers, all science-related art is represented in the major.

“You can do surgical illustration, you can also do infographics, you can do natural science and zoological illustration,” said Marino. “We even have an internship with the US Department of Defense to create 3-D models of environmental simulations.”

“I think it’s very challenging, our major, but I appreciate that,” said Vice President Bethany Carns. “I love the sciences, but I don’t want to go full science, and I love the arts, but I don’t want to have a career in just art. I love the combination of science and art.”

“It’s been a small and niche major, but it’s grown significantly,” said Marino. “Our freshman class is the biggest class we’ve had so far.”

The numbers back up that growth: while just a few years ago, there were only about twenty-something BMAV majors at Rowan, the number of students pursuing the major now has grown to 44. On some level, they attribute this growth in the major’s popularity to their adjacent BMAV club, which helps potential BMAV students see what the major is all about.

“We try not to do incredibly intensive activities … because most of the members of our club are in the major, so you don’t wanna give them a tedious project that they’re maybe already doing in class,” said Carns. “It’s nice to keep the activities during the club a little bit more simple, because anybody who might not be a biomed major, and they’re coming in for the first time … they might not have a lot of background in it, and we don’t want to exclude non-majors in the things that we do in the club.”

“We did a workshop last year where we had bugs, obviously, they were already collected, already dried, and then we just put them in resin, resin casting, it was a really fun experience,” said Marino.

Finally, they went on to advocate for people with a deep interest in science, regardless of their ability or background in art, to come out to the club and gain a deeper understanding of the major.

“If you really want a challenge, and you enjoy the sciences, even if you’re not able to draw, but you’re still passionate about the sciences, go for it,” Carns said. “While it is more art-centered, I think that you really have to have an affinity for sciences…if you’re passionate about it, then that is what matters.”

For comments/questions about this story DM us on Instagram @thewhitatrowan or email arts@thewhitonline.com