60 Seconds with WITS 2020 Virtual Summit Speaker, Kimberly Arcand

Kimberly Arcand is the Visualization Lead at NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory/Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Her session at the 2020 WITS Virtual Summit is “Walking Through an Exploded Star: Scientific Data and Emerging Technologies”.

• Why is speaking at WITS important to you?

I truly enjoy connecting with other women in technology as that opportunity is not quite as often as I’d like. Being able to share what I’m passionate about with a large group of people who are also passionate is incredible.

• What inspires you?

The Universe, that we only know the tiniest bit about it, and that with each puzzle we solve, we discover 10 more in its place.

• Most useful article you’ve read in the last month

10 Questions to ask when creating a visualization: http://10qviz.org/

• When you were a kid what was your dream job?

Not in any particular order: Astronaut. Veterinarian. Doctor. Environmentalist.

• Tell us something about your session

Our universe is dynamic and 3D, but we don’t get that perspective when we are only looking at the data in two dimensions. Technology is helping us not only render parts of the Universe back into 3D but also helping us step inside it for an up close, personalized experience.