July 26, 1999
Contact: Jody Oesterreicher (312) 996-8277 [email protected]
AGE-PROGRESSION ARTIST TO HEAD UIC BIOMEDICAL VISUALIZATION PROGRAM
Scott Barrows, internationally known biomedical artist and co-developer of the process for age progression of faces to find missing children, will become head of the biomedical visualization program at the University of Illinois at Chicago in August.
The UIC biomedical visualization program, founded in 1921, is the second oldest academic medical illustration program in the country and one of only six such programs in the United States and Canada. The program, known for its expertise in emerging digital technologies, leads the way in computer visualization, and prosthetics and 3-D model design. It accepts just 12 students each year in a highly competitive enrollment process.
Barrows is among the program's most distinguished alumni. He graduated from UIC with honors in 1976. The same year, he joined the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas as an assistant professor and founded his own business, Medical Art Associates. Barrows joined the faculty of UIC as a clinical assistant professor in 1983. He continues to operate Medical Art Associates, which specializes in creating educational material for both the pharmaceutical industry and museums.
In 1985 Barrows and his former University of Texas Southwestern colleague, Lewis Sadler, developed the process of "projected aging" to find missing children. They "aged" photographic images of two sisters who had been missing for seven years. Barrrows' illustration was broadcast on national TV and within 20 minutes several viewers recognized the girls and called authorities.
Sadler joined Barrows at UIC in 1987 and together they formed the National Research Center for the Identification of Missing Children at the university. Mary Rasmussen, research assistant professor of biomedical visualization at UIC, helped Barrows and Sadler computerize the projected aging process. In 1989 Barrows received a commendation for his work from President Ronald Reagan. John Rabun of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children called the team's work the most revolutionary breakthrough he had witnessed in his 15 years of law enforcement. Barrows worked on 95 missing children cases, which resulted in the identification of 30 missing children.
Barrows plans to continue the school's commitment to research and emerging technology. He also plans to draw on his close working relationships with pharmaceutical companies to expose students to consumer-based media opportunities.
"I believe in making this program market-based," Barrows said. "At the same time that I support academic interests, I want to help develop people who can go out and set the world on fire.
"I have had a successful business for two decades and have learned more than I ever thought I could. I feel deep down that with this experience I can help move the profession forward by providing students with the tools and experience they need to do really great things."
"Scott has imagination as well as technical proficiency, which he can translate into beautiful works of art," said Jeffrey Rich, co-founder of Integrated Communications, a leading international healthcare communications and marketing firm, with offices in Parsippany and Lawrenceville, N.J., and London. "A lot of people do medical illustration, but he goes way beyond that. He's in a class by himself. Students in the program will be learning from one of the very best in their chosen field."
Barrows' other achievements include the design of the Chicago White Sox home uniform; illustration of more than 35 books including the New York Times bestseller How to get Pregnant; and creation of numerous murals, multimedia projects, and museum exhibits including "Celebration of Life," on display at the Edward Hospital Cardiovascular Institute, Naperville, Ill., and "AIDS: The War Within" at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago.
Barrows has received numerous honors for his work. Italy's Bologna Medical School in 1989 selected Barrows and his mentor, Frank Netter, to speak and represent the United States at its 900th anniversary celebration. The National Library of Medicine in 1990 selected his painting series titled "Anatomy of the Immune System" for inclusion in its archives, and in 1998 the International College of Surgeons in Chicago held a retrospective of Barrows' work. Barrows currently is working on, among other projects, "Genetics," a major upcoming exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry.
Barrows is filling the position formerly held by Alice Katz, who is retiring after 30 years at UIC as a student, faculty member and administrator in the program.
With 25,000 students, the University of Illinois at Chicago is the largest and most diverse university in the Chicago area. UIC is home to the largest medical school in the United States and is one of the 88 leading research universities in the country. Located just west of Chicago's Loop, UIC is a vital part of the educational, technological and cultural fabric of the area. -UIC-
UIC BIOMEDICAL VISUALIZATION PROGRAM BACKGROUNDER
Tom Jones, pioneering medical illustrator and founder of the Association of Medical Illustrators, founded the University of Illinois at Chicago biomedical visualization program in 1921. It began as an apprenticeship program in the university's department of medical and dental illustration, evolved into a certificate program in 1945 and an accredited degree-offering program in 1963.
Over the years, Jones broadened the program to include exhibit and 3-D model design, photography and television, and illustration. He also formed a relationship with Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, whereby medical illustration students could work on major exhibits as part of the curriculum. Though the institutions no longer have a formal relationship, the museum throughout the century has drawn on the expertise of faculty and alumni of UIC's biomedical visualization program to create many of its exhibits.
The infamous and macabre exhibit of the bodies of a man and woman, sliced from head to toe and encased in glass, was created by a UIC biomedical visualization program alumnus. Jones's students Vince Destro, Tom Fung and Ruth Coleman Wakerlin created the museum's beloved three-dimensional, walk-through heart exhibit called "Heart: The Mighty Muscle." Scott Barrows, a program alumnus and its incoming director, painted a mural for and helped design the museum's groundbreaking "AIDS: The War Within" exhibit in 1996. Barrows collaborated on the interactive exhibit, designed for young audiences and created in a comic-book style, with an illustrator from DC Comics.
The biomedical visualization program has undergone several name changes that reflect both its growth and the technological advances that have expanded the field of medical illustration. It began as the medical art program, was renamed the biocommunication arts program in 1979 and took its current name in 1989. In the mid-1980s, the program phased out its bachelor's degree program and began offering a master's degree in response to a mandate from the Association of Medical Illustrators.
Today the program is best known for its invention and incorporation of cutting-edge technologies, including computerized age-progression illustration, virtual reality and, most recently, biomedical tele- immersion, which combines teleconferencing, telepresence and virtual reality to enable teachers and students to interact with 3-D models. The program also has earned a national reputation, predating the computer age, for its concentration in prosthetics and 3-D model design. It is the only program in the nation that trains students in the fabrication of facial, hand and finger prostheses, oculars and surgical implants.
In addition to the concentration in prosthetics/3-D design, the program offers concentrations in illustration and design, and computer visualization. Illustration and design students prepare to become illustrators using digital imagery and may specialize in surgical, advertising, editorial, medical or legal illustration. Computer visualization students learn advanced Web technologies including interactive programming, 3-D data display and animations. Working with health care experts, they use these and other technologies for professional and patient education including anatomical visualization.
The biomedical visualization program is part of the School of Biomedical and Health Information Sciences in the UIC College of Health and Human Development Sciences.
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