And so we honor black scientists.

Wow! It's already February 28. I can't believe that the month has gone by so quickly -- time sure does fly when you're making comics! If you have been following our Black History Month series, you've taken note of the outstanding black women and men in STEM who have made tremendous impacts in their respective fields. From the basic sciences to nuclear physics, black scholars have resiliently displayed their brilliance and ability, often when met with great opposition. Despite delayed or minimal recognition for their many contributions, black scholars remain a valuable asset to STEM fields and beyond, and we were honored to highlight those whose work has inspired us so deeply and has validated our positioning in the STEM community. 

Although today is the official "last day" of BHM we will continue to honor and acknowledge the wealth of knowledge and creation that has been birthed by the black community. Our series was a mere taste of what black scholars have contributed to STEM, so we encourage you to research more beyond this month and uncover more hidden and masked scientific figures. We're sure you'll be quite delighted with what you learn! (If you find something interesting that you’d like to share, please do comment below, we’d love to learn alongside you)

So here's to the outstanding figures who don't make it into our text but have gotten us to the moon and back and to those who weren't allowed a seat at the table. We value you!

Happy Black History Month, friends —  thank you for engaging with us!

Ps. March kicks off our women’s history month series! We will be honoring women who have taken STEM by storm, and highlighting quite a few #actuallivingscientist. Stay tuned to our social accounts for more!

-Kelly, Khoa and Jaye

And so we honor black scientists.

And so we honor black scientists.

With the beginning of black history month, we will be reflecting on current and past black scientists that have shaped the way we view and interact with the world (and beyond!). We were amazed by the incredible work of various black scientists and have selected ten to highlight. We will be honoring two scientists per week with more connect the dots and a brief description of their research. These scientist’s commitment and dedication have become an inspiration for the whole JKX team! Here’s to celebrating past, present, and future black scientists!

Khoa, Kelly, and Jaye

And so our comics meet the public...

This past year my friends and I created science comics to engage students and their families in STEM. We debated for some time about dissemination and access, as our goal was to make this resource widely accessible to all. This weekend we were invited to share our work, including two science comics, and a science-themed coloring book, at a monthly STEM-based outreach event, “Saturday Science”. Saturday Science is held in the Discovery building at UW-Madison and attracts children of all ages and their families to participate in interactive exploration stations centered around specific themes in STEM. 

Many children and their families engaged with us and our work, asked many insightful questions and hopefully left with a greater interest in science. With this being our first time broadly sharing our work with the public we were pleased that it was so well received! Some students meticulously read the content and completed the incorporated word searches with a friend; while others unleashed their creative sides and whimsically colored the coloring book pages, bringing the science to life. Parents even got in on the action, completing the crosswords and assisting their children with the content. It was incredibly rewarding to see that our contribution made an impact on the families that participated in this event. It was even more rewarding to see the students “seeing” themselves as scientist as they filled the “Meet the Scientist” page with beautifully diverse skin tones.

We are thrilled to continue to produce content and keep children engaged in STEM education. Our next projects are focused on the gut microbiota and microbes from the ocean. We are also doing a special issue for MLK day. Stay tuned for more!

-Kelly, Jaye, Khoa

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And so another comic was born

It’s amazing how quickly we are capable of learning and growing. Our first comic took us nearly a year to complete and now here we are, not even two weeks later, with something new and amazing to share with you all.

On November 10th, 2016, my dear friend Christina Fitzsimmons gave a talk about the research she’s been doing for the past 5 years, fulfilling one of the final requirements to earn herself a Ph.D. from the University of California – San Francisco. Her school live streamed her talk, so although I wasn’t there, I was able to watch and support her with love from Wisconsin. Christina (or Fitzy, as everyone calls her) has a background in chemistry, often working with problems, equipment, and techniques that are very unfamiliar to me even though I also have a passion for and study science. But as she was talking, I couldn't help but see the cartoon pages unfold before my eyes. And so another comic was born.

With this new series, Scientist Spotlight, we hope to show you all of the wonderful questions that scientists are actively working on and expose you to the breadth of research that you may not have realized even existed. Hopefully you’ll enjoy reading and learning about these research endeavors as much as we’ll enjoy learning and creating them.

-Jaye, Khoa, & Kelly

And so it begins...

After the completion of our fist comic we decided to celebrate by enjoying burgers and fries from Five Guys. We were so excited to see it come to fruition! Since our initial brainstorming session nearly a year ago, we labored, laughed, and produced this work with you in mind – and we are incredibly proud of it.

Our first comic, titled “EBV and the Replication Dance”, chronicles the life of a virus (EBV) as it infects its human host. Have you ever wondered how a virus might get you sick, well worry no longer – this comic breaks down the complicated life of a virus into an incredibly accessible storyline.

We hope you enjoy it and check out more from us in the future!

-Kelly, Khoa, & Jaye