By Audrey Alder

A case of mistaken identity led to the creation of portraits honoring two Virginia Commonwealth University-affiliated Nobel Prize-winning researchers that the Office of the Vice President of Research and Innovation recently unveiled.

The researchers?

Baruj Benacerraf, M.D., a 1945 graduate of the then-Medical College of Virginia who won the prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1980, and John B. Fenn, Ph.D., who served as an analytical chemistry professor in the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences and won the prize for Chemistry in 2002.

The artist?

Trinity Rucker, who first appeared on the OVPRI’s radar a few years ago during a chance encounter at VCU’s Institute for Contemporary Art.

It was spring, 2022. A man approached Rucker – then a VCU communication arts student working at the ICA. “Basically, he thought that I was his older cousin’s sister’s brother’s daughter or something because I looked familiar,” Rucker said. “No,” she told the random stranger, “I’m not your family.”

That stranger turned out to be the OVPRI’s Mike Newsome, who introduced Rucker to his colleague Lisa Richman Ballance, associate vice president for research strategy and regulatory affairs.

Ballance was impressed by Rucker’s intellectual curiosity.

“We spoke about the university's research strategic plan and the importance of developing a culture of collaboration,” Ballance said. “She inquired about learning more and contacted me that same week to ask if she might visit our offices. Within two weeks, we spoke about opportunities for the coming summer to launch opportunities to advance collaboration within OVPRI, specifically improving engagement among all divisions and groups.  Somehow, as I spoke about research, her face continued to light up.  She easily connected the dots and spoke about the creative process in the arts and in research and innovation.”  

That summer, Rucker joined the research office as innovator-in-residence.

She hit the ground running, embarking on an internal culture-development project to revamp the OVPRI’s “dreary” office space. She interviewed staff, reviewed space utilization and hosted discussions.

“Everyone was so impressed with her ability to see things from a different perspective – to synthesize the many voices and make suggestions that would support collaboration,” Ballance said.

Rucker said she used an informed data approach to conceptualize new design and lighting plans for the OVPRI office post-pandemic. She made sure she took everything into account, speaking with the staff and consulting with lighting experts. 

“It was important to me not to just come in be like, ‘Well, I'm an artist and y’all aren’t and I think these colors work best,’” she recalled. Instead, she wanted to give space to everyone to voice their concerns. “People get headaches if the lighting is too bright, or some people can get distracted. It made me realize just how intentional you have to be in your process - not just painting and drawing, but - working in a public communal space, there’s a lot of things you have to consider.”

In the process, Rucker learned to balance creativity with practicality.

“I found my responsibility as a creative in a space that generally doesn't embrace [creativity over] STEM and sciences,” she said. “I got to learn a lot more about what it takes to make people happy.”

One of the projects that Rucker pitched was a work that would reflect the importance of the Nobel Prize, one of the most prestigious and globally recognized awards in the world, by honoring Benacerraf, a pioneer in immunology, and Fenn, who helped revolutionize mass spectrometry.

“Her concept was to use art to reflect the very process of research and innovation,” Ballance said. “Starting with a canvas, she would research, test, innovate and apply the knowledge gained to create a unique and compelling work.” 

When Rucker graduated in 2024, she joined the OVPRI part time as special projects coordinator, allowing her to continue the office redesign and put finishing touches on the Nobel Prize winners’ portraits.

“In addition to honoring VCU's Nobel Prize-winning affiliates, the portraits are now placed in VCU’s Research and Innovation suite, as an ongoing reminder of the transdisciplinary research that impacts our community and communities like ours across the globe,” Ballance said.

“Preserved in these works of art is the unrelenting drive to discover and create,” she said. “I believe that these portraits will enrich the ongoing recognition of VCU's research impact and innovative culture, where intellectual curiosity, hard work and collaboration thrive.”

While working on the oil paintings, Rucker felt it was her role to connect the arts and science – or at least shine a sense of importance on each of them.

That’s because Rucker is both dynamic and cerebral, “a true Renaissance woman,” Ballance said. 

“Her talents and skills are fully transferable. I believe that it takes decades for a person to find this part of what activates their inspiration to learn, grow and express themselves fully. … She can look at something and see how to apply that information to achieve a specific goal. What can be learned, perhaps over a lifetime, Trinity seems to have been born with. VCU seems to attract this type of student and professional. It is what makes it a truly outstanding place.”