Norm Barker, M.S., M.A., R.B.P Associate Professor of Pathology and Art as Applied to Medicine has been selected as the 2008 recipient of the BioCommunications Association’s Louis Schmidt Award, the professional society’s highest award. The award will be presented in July at the association’s 78th annual international meeting in Rochester, New York.

The Louis Schmidt Award is bestowed annually at the society’s meeting. It is given for outstanding contributions to the progress of biological communications. Criteria for the award are outstanding contributions to the progress of communications in the life sciences, promotion of understanding and cooperation within the field of biocommunications, maintenance of an ethical approach to professional relationships, and a willingness to freely share scientific information.

The highest honor in BCA is to be selected as Louis Schmidt Laureate. It is named for one of the founders and the second president of the Association. Symbols of the Schmidt Award include the BCA key inset with a diamond and the Gold Headed Cane - a traditional symbol in medicine of high achievement and honor. A committee of the nine most recent Schmidt laureates makes the selection of the recipient subject to approval by the board of governors.

Second year student Ikumi Kayama received a certificate of merit for her Asymmetric Metamorphosis of Paralichthys dentatus from the Illustrators Club 14th Juried Exhibition. Her work will be on display at Pepco's Place Gallery in Washington, DC from May 8 to June 27, 2008.

Previously, she had received the Member's Choice Award from the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators Annual Juried Exhibition.

This award, given by the family and friends of Dr. Netter, will provide financial aid to students in the graduate program of medical and biological illustration. New advances in medicine now challenge the illustrator to create more innovative communication skills.

The Scholarship Fund recognizes Frank F. Netter’s legacy to medical art; his insistence on thoroughly understanding the subject matter and his high artistic standards.

For many decades Frank Netter’s name has been synonymous with medical illustration. Doctors, medical students, health-care providers, and sometimes, curious patients have looked through copies of the CIBA Clinical Symposia for Netter’s illustrations providing sought-after information. Then, later, numerous bound volumes, the CIBA Collection of Medical Illustrations, again offering Netter’s works depicting both the anatomy and pathology of particular systems and organs.

Frank Netter lives on as an educator in the medical sciences and an inspiration to students developing the skills of medical illustrator.

Shizuka Aoki

Stephanie Sadler

Beatriz Martin Villalba M.D.

Neil McMillan

Joseph Samson

Up in Flames: The Art of Flame Painting

Up in Flames: The Art of Flame Painting (MBI 2006) celebrates a truly American art form that has invaded and changed the face of popular culture. The book features the life histories of 18 famous flame painters, their working style and full color images of their creatively crafted cars. Flame painting history and its practitioners have never been fully recognized for the art that has always signified hot rods and motorcycles. The art form's legitimacy lies in the world of true ornamentation-art for beauty, art with a purpose. Many of the stories are coming from first generation painters who initiated the art form just 60 years ago. Colorful words-and-colorful ART-indeed!

In preparation for this book and since, Tim has flame painted over 400 miniature diecast cars and has authored over 2 dozen history and how-to articles for a variety of rod, art and toy magazines.