Member Spotlight: Garfield Tsz Fung Kwan

CERF is pleased to introduce a new addition to our newsletter: The Member Spotlight. This regular feature will highlight the rich diversity of CERF members and celebrate the contributions they make to coastal and estuarine science. We would like to kick off the fledgling column by highlighting a CERF member in a similar stage of his career who is making a unique contribution to scientific communication.

Featured members in the Member Spotlight column are active CERF members who are recommended by fellow members. If you would like to suggest another member to profile, or if you have a story of your own to share, we would love to know. Please fill out the Member Spotlight Nomination Form to submit your suggestion for consideration.

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Garfield Tsz Fung Kwan graduated from the University of California, San Diego in June 2013 as a part of the inaugural marine biology class. His CV includes an impressive list of appointments, presentations, and honors - including the second place award for best undergraduate student oral presentation at the recent CERF 2013 conference - but what really makes him stand out is a side-project he began with a group of friends last June called Squidtoons. 

Squidtoons is a collaborative effort between a small team of scientists and artists with a shared vision of bridging the gap between scientific research and the general public. They use comical illustrations to bring science to life in a humorous and accessible manner.

"I have always been a visual learner and I have been reading comics since I was a kid," says Kwan, "As I got deeper and deeper into science I found it harder and harder to explain to my parents and friends what I was doing. Then it dawned on me that this is a way I can explain to people what I was doing and what I was in love with."

Their slogan says it all - Illustrating science with farts, burps, and giggles. "We illustrate how wacky the underwater world is," says Kwan, "People are naturally attracted and amused by the different animals that are underwater. They just don't realize where they can find more information."

Squidtoons draws inspiration from many sources, including other popular online comics. "I've been reading The Oatmeal for the past 3 or 4 years," says Kwan, "When they started The Mantis Shrimp one, which was a huge hit for Scripps and the Birch Aquarium, it dawned on me that we could probably do something similar to that."

Squidtoons began with one cartoon, Anatomy of a Market Squid, and has grown into an online portfolio and blog. Their ideas come from many places, including classes, the internet, and other scientists.

"I actually met someone at CERF 2013 that was interested in having her own project illustrated," says Kwan, "I am working with her to illustrate her project on oyster reef acoustics." 

Photo: Garfield Kwan, CERF Member & Director of Squidtoons Comics at work in the lab.

That partnership has since come to fruition and the research of Ashlee Lillis, a PhD student at North Carolina State University, is now highlighted in the comic "How the Oyster Larvae Hear Their Way Home."

Sources are cited for most of the work that Squidtoons produces. "This opens up articles and papers to the general public and provides more exposure to how science works," says Kwan, "I want to use it to create exposure for different scientists and projects and what they're researching - to create connections."

Other projects on the horizon include a partnership with the Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. "We are going to work with the Birch Aquarium to illustrate ocean acidification and deep sea creatures hopefully starting this month," says Kwan. 

He is interested in working with other scientists and different institutions to make their research, "…more colorful and entertaining. And help them enhance their presentations." He also hopes to find a grant or other funding opportunity to one day support summer internships for artists dedicated to drawing and illustrating other scientists’ projects.

In the meantime, Garfield will be pursuing a Ph.D. in Marine Biology at Scripps Institution of Oceanography beginning this fall. His focus will be the neurological and behavioral responses of marine fish to ocean acidification. "Hopefully I can continue to do this throughout grad school and beyond," says Kwan. 

CERF wishes him the best of luck in his academic pursuits and continued stewardship of Squidtoons.

Fellow CERF members can support his efforts by visiting Squidtoons, following it on social media, or by submitting an idea or project for illustration.