This project was a fun exploration into the intersection of two of my passions: biology and art. It started out as an idea that only existed in my head, but by bringing it into the real world, it found a community of over 35,000 people!
I think that one of the core ways that the Natural Sciences become real to us is through detailed simulations and visuals of their beauty and systematic processes. When you think of scientific disciplines, usually what comes to mind isn't the words that describe them but rather the images that capture their essence. Math has geometry. Chemistry has atomic models. Biology has simulation diagrams.
This mission of visualization is how this cell lamp became my first CAD model project. One of my friends had given me this beautiful colour changing LED lamp, but one day while diving into cellular respiration, I thought - what if this could be used differently?
While the learning curve to formulate coherent outcomes in software like OnShape was steep, my desire to realize the concept of a cell in the real 3D space of the world was not. I spent a few weeks modelling, printing and experimenting with different drafts to finally create the glowing cell of my biological dreams.