Hey! I’m Rita

I’ve been making art and loving science as long as I can remember, and have had a career path steadily meandering between the two. I first studied industrial design in college, but after graduating, realized I wasn’t too keen on making things that might end up in a landfill someday. I returned to school to get another degree in molecular biology, hoping to research sustainable biotechnologies. During a research internship at the National Renewable Energy Lab. in Colorado, I used metabolic engineering for the upcycling of PET plastic. It was also at NREL that I rediscovered my love of art and graphic design as I helped colleagues prepare figures communicating research across a wide range of scientific disciplines. During graduate school in Montana, I increasingly found myself procrastinating on my lab research by making journal covers and figures.

In 2022, I decided to Master out of my Ph.D. program to pursue scientific illustration, founding Scivetica, where I help researchers from all over the world bring their work to life.

I am currently located in the Boston area and am happy to meet in person if you are too!

 

Assistant manager Green Bean

 
 

Education

  • M.S. Biochemistry, Montana State University, 2022

  • B.S. Molecular Biology, Portland State University, 2018

  • B.S. Industrial Design, University of Oregon, 2014

Awards & Activities

  • Graduate Research Fellowship, National Science Foundation, Awarded 2020

  • Director’s Award, National Bioenergy Center, NREL, Golden, CO 2019

  • Exhibitor, Salone del Mobile, Milan Design Week, Milan, Italy, 2014

Services offered

  • Journal cover art

  • Table of contents/graphical abstracts

  • Figures for publication, grants, or presentations

  • Lab logos and brand identity

  • Web design

  • Scientific writing and consulting