Karen Teramura

   Institute for Astronomy
2680 Woodlawn Drive
Honolulu, HI 96822-1839 USA
808.956.9444 office
808.956.9853 fax
teramura@ifa.hawaii.edu

Computer Graphics
Specialist
(1994-present)


Research Support Division
Institute for Astronomy
University of Hawaii at Manoa
As a member of the Publications Department, I am responsible for type, design, layout and production of materials used by the Institute's scientific staff, web development, offset press, and outreach/educational programs. I use state-of-the-art computer graphics technology to interface files between UNIX, Windows, and Macintosh platforms.
I manage the "public" computer graphics lab at the institute and teach workshops on slide and flatbed scanning, slide making, photographic manipulation, PostScript editing, production techniques for scientific illustration, PowerPoint, and poster presentations. I determine hardware and software needs, make the necessary purchases and am responsible for setup and maintenance. For a complete list of services and skills see: http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/users/teramura/kt_ss.html

 

Biologist &
Visual Information
Specialist GS1084-11
(1991-1994)

Environmental Awareness Division
Chesapeake Bay Field Office
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Annapolis, Maryland

 

I produced a broad base of high-quality visual products designed to promote public awareness of the threats to and values of natural resources in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Technical knowledge of fish, wildlife, their habitats, and ecology were combined with production knowledge to design and develop publications, exhibits, and presentations used in environmental awareness programs throughout six states. In addition to working with other Federal, State, and private agencies, I provided technical support to Fish and Wildlife regional and national projects, providing artwork and producing publications in one to four or more colors.
I was responsible for design, type, illustration, photography, and production of publications using state-of-the-art computer graphic/electronic prepress technology and freehand techniques for line, halftone, and full-color illustration. I coordinated all stages of production, determined deadlines, accumulated bids, and scheduled work with contract service bureaus, artists, photographers, cartographers, and printers.
I worked with education specialists, research biologists, and refuge managers to assess their ongoing projects and suggest opportunities to use visual materials in environmental awareness programs.
I managed a graphics production unit, consisting of three Macintosh systems and two DOS-based systems. I provided technical training and assistance on Macintosh and IBM hardware and software to secretaries, biologists, and other system users. I assigned routine computer graphics work to secretaries and interns. I researched and determined computer graphic and electronic prepress software and hardware needs. I acquired extensive knowledge of importing and exporting information between documents on different platforms, as well as technical knowledge needed for outputting specific graphic file formats to printers and service bureaus with sophisticated imaging systems.

 

Instructor (1983-1994)

College of Life Sciences
University of Maryland at
College Park

 

As an instructor, my primary responsibilities were teaching special topic seminars to both graduate and undergraduate students. I consulted and contributed to new course development in the Departments of Entomology and Botany in the College of Life Sciences. I consistently received outstanding teaching evaluations from students and peers

Scientific Illustration (1983-1994) Department of Entomology.
I designed and developed this special topics course for graduate students in the College of Life Sciences and College of Agriculture covering techniques used in publishing and presenting scientific research. First semester students concentrated on basic fundamentals of design, publication standards, copyright law, and production of line and halftone art. Second semester students worked on various color techniques, conceptual and homolographic renderings, and computer graphics.
Computer Graphics Presentations for the Sciences (1987-1994) Department of Botany. I designed and developed this special topics course for the College of Life Sciences Macintosh Laboratory, which trained graduates and undergraduates in the use of Macintosh hardware and computer graphics software for illustration, photographic manipulation, slide making, data entry, database management, and desktop publishing. Input/output, interfacing, and cross platform troubleshooting were also covered.
 
 
Freelance Scientific Illustrator and Production Specialist 1982-present
As a freelance scientific illustrator and production specialist, I consult and contribute to scientific publications. I combine communication and organizational skills to develop diverse freelance jobs simultaneously with long term contracts and teaching. Since 1982, I have worked on projects involving the flora and fauna of the mid-Atlantic states, as featured in a field guide I coauthored entitled Chesapeake Bay: Nature of the Estuary, A field Guide.
Freelance work includes projects where clients depend on my skills to take their projects through the entire process of research, design, production and publication. I compile resource materials and establish review contacts. I photograph and compile taxonomic work in the field. I revise and write text when needed. I coordinate reference materials and obtain living and preserved specimens from government and state institutions for graphics. I design and execute illustrations. In areas of production, I am responsible for layout and design, type, and camera-ready mechanicals or electronic prepress computer-generated files or film, communicating with service bureaus and printers, and examining printing proofs for my clients.
Involved in scientific publications since 1975, I have illustrated over 2000 species of flora and fauna occurring in specific upland, coastal, freshwater, estuarine and marine habitats. I combine freehand techniques for line, halftone, and color reproduction with computer graphic technology. I have production experience in one to four or more colors, including process color builds.
Short-term work involves type design, and scientific illustration of cover art, brochures, programs, booklets, posters, fliers, slides, logos, educational, and promotional materials. The latter includes U.S. Postal Service regulated business reply mail. Long-term projects involve work for popular and technical science books, manuals, field guides, scientific journals, and annual reports.
Contributions to
Major Publications
The Moss Flora of Mexico Volumes 1 and 2 edited by Aaron J. Sharp, Howard Crum, and Patricia M. Eckel, The New York Botanical Garden 1994.
White Team Manual of Oncology edited by Dr. David Zuckerman M.D. and Dr. Richard Schultz M.D., Georgetown University Medical Center 1992.
Experiments in Plant Biology by Linda Berg with drawings by Karen Teramura, KendalVHunt Publishers 1991.
The World of Biology Fourth Edition by Davis, Solomon, and Berg, Saunders College Publishing 1990.
Chesapeake Bay: Nature of the Estuary, A Field Guide by Christopher P. White with drawings by Karen Teramura, Tidewater Publishers 1989.
Back Injury Prevention: Protect Your Back, American Red Cross 1987.
Plant Anatomy Laboratory Manual by Dr. Todd Cook with illustrations by Karen Teramura, University of Maryland at College Park 1985.
Plant Kingdom Laboratory Manual by Michael Millay, University of Maryland at College Park 1983.
Northeastem American Manual of Bryophytes Volumes 1 and 2 by Dr. Lewis A. Anderson and Dr. Howard Crum, Duke University Press 1982.
Education Bachelor of Arts May 1983.
Summa Cum Laude
Major: Scientific Illustration
University of Maryland, College Park.
Individual Studies Program
Post Graduate Education: 34 credits.
Portfolio available upon request   teramura@ifa.hawaii.edu