In the hallways of the William Eckhardt Research Center at the University of Chicago, a vibrant and innovative mural now graces the walls outside the Dean of Students Office. This isn’t just any ordinary display—it’s a carefully crafted tribute to the unsung heroes and diverse pioneers of the university’s illustrious scientific history.
It’s no secret that the University of Chicago has had more than its share of Nobel Prize winners between its Physics and Chemistry Departments. But, as it turns out, there’s more to that story.
The Trailblazers Wall, as it’s come to be known, is the brainchild of Angela V. Olinto, Dean of the Physical Sciences Division during its creation and unveiling, and now Provost at Columbia University.
As the first woman to hold this position and the first female Chair of the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Dean Olinto saw an opportunity: Beyond its most recognized Nobel laureates, the university has had a diverse range of contributors not as well-known.
For example, Maria Goeppert Mayer developed the nuclear shell model, for which she eventually won the Nobel Prize. During that time, she was unpaid as simply the wife of another faculty member because the school would not hire her. Goeppert Mayer would eventually be compensated much later in her career for her work at Argonne National Lab in Chicago’s southwest suburbs.
Dean Olinto knew there were many more Maria Goeppert Mayers whose numerous stories were waiting to be told. From a design perspective, the question was how to feature them best. She envisioned a permanent visual timeline honoring the department’s greatest pioneers. For that, Olinto didn’t have to look much farther than within.
The Storyteller Behind The Trailblazers Wall
Since 2007, Chris Leather has served as Director for PSD Graphic Arts, a design studio and print shop within the university that supports the research, educational, and promotional needs of the Physical Sciences Division.
The department’s graphics work harkens back to 1945, just after Enrico Fermi built the world’s first nuclear reactor on the Hyde Park campus as part of The Manhattan Project.
After being approached by Dean Olinto about the Trailblazers Wall, Leather immediately began visualizing how he wanted to tell the story, starting from a very conceptual standpoint. He knew he didn’t want to tell it in the fashion of a linear timeline or provide the type of narrative that didn’t feel representative of the university today.
Breaking the Mold: A Unique Design Approach
Leather’s design concept broke away from traditional timelines, opting for an abstract, puzzle-like arrangement of irregularly shaped panels. As he explains, this idea originated from a unique visualization.
“One of the images that got stuck in my head early on as we were drawing inspirations was the image of an artist who had an installation that was simply a big, smashed piece of drywall.”
Leather began to think about specific patterns, such as the kind that drywall makes when it’s broken through and the pattern that glass makes when it’s shattered.
“We wanted to create something that had a feeling of almost like patchwork, bits and pieces that were all treated with the same approach, but all very irregular and all different.”
Ultimately a format for the wall was designed—based on polyrhythmic beat structure—by overlapping 3 unique grids. This allowed for a wide array of repeated irregular, but related, shapes.
The Artistic Challenge: Scientific Contributors’ Portraits
The scientific contributors’ portraits presented another challenge for Leather and his design team. Consistency in image quality was an issue with subjects spanning from the early 1900s to the present. The solution? A unique artistic approach inspired by Andy Warhol’s style and scientific imaging techniques.
Leather collaborated with Yannick Meurice, a scientist from the University of Iowa, to create abstract, two-tone representations of each subject. The images were processed by applying a scientific method developed by Meurice that broke the photos down into digital aquatints. These were then layered and tinted, resulting in visually striking and cohesive portraits across all eras.
A captivating design on paper was becoming very real. However, there was still a large challenge to overcome: The process of bringing The Trailblazers Wall to life in a format that no person in its vicinity could ever ignore.
ER2 Impacts The Trailblazers Wall’s Most Crucial Phase
Almost immediately, from the initial meetings, Leather knew something was critically different – and better – about ER2 Image Group.
“What really struck me was ER2’s willingness to jump in and make suggestions. As they did, I got very excited because I realized this project could be bigger than I initially imagined. I don’t think we would have landed on this specific nature of design had it not been for the chance to experiment.”
ER2 and Leather were able to explore different materials and experiment through testing, evaluating everything from PVC to acrylic with different thicknesses. From there, a number of essential components of the Trailblazer Wall came into place as part of a remarkably smooth production and installation process, including:
📌 Contributor Portraits
As you view the stories of each iconic member of the Trailblazers Wall, it feels as though there’s a three-dimensional quality to them. That’s no accident. The black and white portrait treatment on the front is accompanied by a color treatment printed on the back, giving the element greater depth.
📌 Magnetic Panels
It was essential to Dean Olinto that the Trailblazers Wall have the flexibility to change featured contributors over time easily. A panel that would have to be unscrewed from a wall, leaving holes, wasn’t a good option. ER2 suggested making the entire panel magnetic, allowing the people and their stories to move on and off the panel. Logistical nightmare avoided.
📌 Steel Grid
To work with the magnetic panels, a grid of steel rail was used to “house” all of them. The cuts of the grid were not linear, so it needed to be produced in a particular way that involved cutting the piece into strips and screwing the magnetic panels into the rails. For all its potential complexity, Leather describes this element of the project in collaboration with ER2 as shockingly easy. “It was simply a matter of looking at the layout I had already created for them and sticking those magnetic pieces in the right spots.”
Unveiling The Finished Creation
ER2’s willingness to experiment with materials and printing techniques led to the final product: A series of magnetic panels that can be easily rearranged or updated in the future.
The Trailblazers Wall features 25 individuals from various departments within the Physical Sciences Division, including physics, chemistry, astronomy, astrophysics, statistics, and geophysical sciences. Each panel includes a brief description of the person’s contributions and a QR code linking to more detailed information online.
Among those honored are:
- Walter E. Massey, the university’s first Black physics professor.
- Ted Fujita, creator of the tornado F-scale.
The unveiling of the Trailblazers Wall was an emotional experience for many, including Joan Sander Chmiel, a former statistics faculty member who played a significant role in early HIV studies. “She was so touched that anybody remembered her,” Leather remembers. “She was genuinely moved by being part of this.”
“She was so touched that anybody remembered her. She was genuinely moved by being part of this.”
This project of the Trailblazers Wall represents more than just a visual timeline—it’s a living testament to the diverse minds that have shaped scientific understanding at the University of Chicago.
The Future of the Trailblazers Wall
Chris Leather feels as though he’s living through history thanks to the wall, but he’s also looking ahead. As the magnetic design allows for future updates, the Trailblazers Wall stands ready to inspire and honor generations of scientists to come.
“There’s so much more to tell and so many more names. We have people on campus right now making amazing contributions and having the kind of impact that’s sure to see them added to the wall and its legacy.”
In a celebration honoring her legacy before moving on to her new role as Provost of Columbia, Dean Olinto was presented with her own panels—the first new addition to the Trailblazers Wall. Olinto is proud to have her own story added to the wall, with the esteemed university’s pioneers and their stories showcased – hopefully inspiring a wider array of students to pursue careers in the physical sciences.
You can learn more about the PSD Trailblazers at the website that each QR code links to: https://www.trailblazers.psd.uchicago.edu/
