Celestial sculptor

“I had a hard time deciding whether to continue my education as an artist or a scientist,” Christine Corday explains. “But we are all things–that’s where the ‘whole person’ comes into play.”

Stints as a NASA intern, packaging designer, and award-winning fiction writer gave way to her work as a celebrated sculptor. Her sculptural installations have been featured in solo shows at L.A.’s LACMA, St. Louis’s CAM, and New York City’s Highline, as well as playing a featured role in the 9/11 Memorial at the World Trade Center.

While she’s known today as an artist, Corday’s work has always incorporated scientific processes and pointed the way for scientific discovery. She just completed a groundbreaking international project that recalls her NASA days: representing the discipline of Art in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project—a 35-country effort to harness fusion through building a star here on earth.