Popular media often portrays science as something akin to magic with test tubes, where an eccentric few churn out grand discoveries overnight amid a regular chorus of “Eureka!”
In reality, science is closer to art than many realize: a lifelong pursuit filled not just with successes but also a myriad of failures, fraught with uncertainty, that is a profoundly human undertaking at its core.
In its ongoing year-long festival run, Serendipity has already been awarded Best Film at the Sigma-Xi STEM Art and Film Festival and chosen as an Official Selection of the History, Arts and Sciences International Doc Fest, a Finalist at the Raw Science Film Festival and a Nominee at the IMDb qualifying Chicago Indie Film Awards.
“Our goal with Serendipity and with all of our films is to dispel the idea of science as something locked away in an ivory tower,” said Sunanda Prabhu-Gaunkar, the film’s director and STAGE Lab’s director of science. “We present Erin’s work in a way that’s relatable to a broader audience, and our larger goal with this series is to shrink the gap between the reality of science and the public’s perception of it.”
"This award-winning film created by an engineering school highlights the interdisciplinary, collaborative culture we have created here at PME,” Mason said. “The work truly brings together the arts and sciences, strengthening both.”
Through the film, Adams nurtures curiosity in her son, who was 3 at the time of filming, and students alike, maintaining a precarious balance between low- and high-risk explorations, providing the guidance to students that she wished she had received.
“Life can be hard or scary to navigate when you don’t have a good navigator or even a map,” Adams said. “I’m hoping that by seeing the complexity and chaos – the serendipity – of the path thus far of my life, that younger scientists, particularly those without a lot of role models in this area, will be less apprehensive about not knowing exactly where they are going or what they are doing.”
Fortuitous timing
STAGE is Pritzker Molecular Engineering’s innovative full-scale interdisciplinary laboratory devoted entirely to meaningful collaborations among scientists and artists. The lab’s distinct research focuses on creating theatre, film, games and other artistic endeavors inspired by science and technology. In the process, STAGE also explores what happens when art and science are truly integrated, rather than having one discipline at the service of the other.
“We don’t think people want to see science lectures disguised as works of art,” Kawalek said. “A powerful way to get the public excited about science is to engage them emotionally, to offer them a story or an experience that leaves them with a feeling, a sense of something memorable and/or something that is entertaining and fun.”
Kawalek and Prabhu-Gaunkar learned about Adams through a student in the lab who’d studied with the professor. They decided to feature her after an early conversation instilled the filmmaker with a real sense of excitement. According to Prabhu-Gaunkar, Adams was a unique subject—a researcher who’d made major breakthroughs in her field but who was exceedingly humble.
That humility is front and center throughout the film, as Adams tells the story of her career as one marked by anxiety and serendipitous breakthroughs. The film delves into the specifics of her research as well as her complicated family life growing up, her early attempts at science, and her eventual successes.
Adams is a widely recognized expert in immunology research. She investigates how the human immune system regulates disease and how a better understanding of its mechanisms may help treat illness. Specifically, she researches the molecular signals that the immune system uses to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy tissue.
The film takes an intimate tone. It features several lingering shots of a contemplative Adams in her Jackson Park home on Chicago’s South Side and follows her during outings with her three-year-old son.
“The film crew became close to family throughout this process, so my son was very comfortable with them and, in fact, loved it when they were around. I think the parts of the film that included him were a good representation of how wonderful, and how hard, being a parent is,” Adams said. “I hope it also shows people that family comes in many different ways, and that when the conventional family structure doesn’t ‘happen’ for you, that it is okay to define what family means to you and make it happen on your terms.”
It’s not only a film about family life. Serendipity also features moments of fun and camaraderie in Adams’ research lab and the ups and downs in the work of students in her group. The film also features several hand-animated segments designed by the talented student team to provide a more down-to-earth tone that would mirror Adams’ work and life.
“There is a level of vulnerability that I didn’t necessarily appreciate early on,” Adams said about sharing her life on film. “I do hope that it can show people the life of a scientist, both the fun and stressful times, the good days and the less-so good days, that sometimes keeping your nose right above the water line can be considered success. My biggest hope is that we can realize that everyone is human, and inspire more curiosity, empathy and a desire to make the world a better place, both in big and small ways.”
Weaving the whole story
Kawalek and Prabhu-Gaunkar conceived of the larger docuseries, Curiosity: The Making of a Scientist, based in part on an idea by Fiona Goodchild, California NanoSystems Institute Education Director.
Originally proposed as a scientific take on Inside the Actors Studio, the project evolved into a docuseries so the team could better show how scientists deal directly with day-to-day challenges and overcome the many trials and doubts that underlie scientific research.
Staying true to the spirit of the PME and tapping into the excellent student pool at UChicago, the series has developed as a highly collaborative effort between an interdisciplinary team of dedicated undergraduate and graduate student scientists and artists.
The first film in the series, Superposition, was awarded Best Short Documentary at the 2022 Katra Film Series, Best Short Film at the 2021 Sigma Xi STEM Art and Film Festival, Finalist at Raw Science Film Festival, Official Selection of Chicago Indie Film Awards, and Official Selection of SeriesFest.
That drive to peel back the curtain on modern science is a central tenet of the STAGE Lab. The lab has produced several unique projects spanning theatre, film and game design that have all sought to open up science to the broader public and foster excitement for the field. Another project, the Quantum Casino—a suite of tabletop games that explore the principles of quantum mechanics—has held several live demonstrations around the globe to rave reviews.
“At STAGE, we work with scientists, engineers, professional artists and students from multiple disciplines to transcend stereotypes,” Kawalek said. “Science stories are, at their core, human stories.”