Nicole Liao

Nicole Liao came to the Science History Institute as a PhD candidate in the Department of Art History at the University of Toronto. Her interests lie at the intersection of the history of photography and film, science and technology studies, and aesthetics. Nicole’s dissertation foregrounds the importance of color in theories of evolution and biology as scientists sought to reveal, magnify and animate life processes in the latter half of the 19th century. Specifically, she focuses on experimental imaging and staining technologies between 1870 and 1930 when France became a center for biomedical research and Germany the center for the chemical dye industry. Nicole’s research has been supported by the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy at University of Toronto and the Huntington Library and Museum.