The sculpture of an estrogen molecule on display outside the Academy's President's office was created by artist Mara Haseltine. The sculpture is scientifically accurate and depicts the structure of the estrogen molecule at the atomic level. Haseltine hopes the sculpture will help viewers develop a new understanding of science by allowing them to physically interact with a representation of a microscopic molecule. The Academy has also hired Douglas Braaten as the new Director and Executive Editor of the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. He will oversee the expansion and increased exposure of the Annals scientific journal.

1. The New York Academy of Sciences Magazine • Spring 2009 7
Insidethe Academy
A three-pound, nine-inch sculpture of a molecule is currently
gracing a shelf outside the Academy’s President’s office. Art en-
vironmentalist Mara Haseltine loaned Estrogen molecule: estra-
diol benzoate, a dynamic three-dimensional homage to the ste-
roid molecule, for display through June 2009. The artist says she
chose the piece, which she considers a celebration of women and
women scientists, because “it is elegant, it represents a scientific
discovery, and it showcases the merging of science and art.”
Academy member Haseltine, the daughter of well-known
biotech entrepreneur and NYAS President’s Council member
William Haseltine, says this is not the first time her artwork has
been inspired by the molecule that is the catalyst for the female
reproductive cycle. The piece is part of a series entitled Estrogen
Tales: The Story of Nine Molecules and How They Bonded, and is
inspired by the research of medicinal chemist Hyun K. Kim on
molecular improvements to contraception and women’s health.
Haseltine designed the sculpture using molecular data
gleaned from X-ray crystallography as an armature. It accu-
rately depicts the structure and the space that the atoms occupy.
Through the use of scientifically accurate data and visual aesthet-
ics, Haseltine says the work conveys a new understanding of a
scientific concept because “you can touch and feel and experience
the microscopic molecule.”
The Academy isn’t the only place you can find the sculpture:
The Society for Women’s Health gives a copy each year to the out-
standing female scientist winner of its Medtronics Award.
For more information about Haseltine’s artwork, including a
new project that introduces geo-therapy through the lens of oys-
ter restoration in New York City’s urban environment in conjunc-
tion with The New School of Liberal Arts’ Oyster Gardens Class,
visit www.calamara.com. —Natalie Abruzzo
Estrogen Amplified: Sculpture
Spotlights Women and Science
Douglas Braaten joined the Academy as the new Director and
Executive Editor of the Annals of the New York Academy of Sci-
ences. Braaten, who previously served for three years as an editor
of Nature Immunology, completed a postdoctoral research fel-
lowship in viral immunology in the Department of Pathology
and Immunology at Washington University in St. Louis after
earning a PhD from Columbia University. Earlier, he trained as a
staff associate and senior research staff assistant in the microbi-
ology and biology departments at Columbia.
Braaten is responsible for day-to-day management of the
Annals, the oldest continuously published scientific serial in the
US, and works closely with NYAS publishing and scientific staff
on developing new editorial and business opportunities. “It’s an
exciting time to be involved with the Annals and the Academy to
produce volumes of the best and most cutting-edge science pos-
sible for our worldwide readership,” Braaten says. “I’m especially
excited by the prospect of working closely with scientists, bring-
ing to bear my experience as a research scientist and then editor,
to develop Annals volumes that are important and useful to the
scientific community.”
Braaten will oversee the Annals expansion in 2009 from
28 to 32 volumes, which include the second year of a new col-
lection of annual reviews volumes in immunology, neurology,
ecology, addiction, and several other areas, that have contributed
to significantly increased exposure of the Annals in the scien-
tific community. In recent months the Annals has been among
the 10 most popular titles of 1,400 available through the Wiley
Interscience online service. Wiley has published Annals on the
Academy’s behalf for the past three years.
Braaten Takes Helm as New
Director, Editor of Annals