Video by: Tom Schilling (2010)
Learning to make scientific images with the atomic force microscope (AFM) can be one of the most exciting aspects of becoming a full-time researcher. The pressure to work independently, get results, interpret visual data, and make new claims, however, can quickly turn the joy of exploration into work, stress, controversy, and in some cases, a struggle for professional survival. "Do You See What I See?" explores the making of the modern materials nanoscientist at MIT through two researchers' reflections on their own ambitions, the training they received and the trials they faced as graduate students, and their thoughts on a recent controversy regarding the interpretation of an AFM image which ruptured the cohesion of their research group.