WHEN Felice Frankel, a photographer, looks at scientific data,
she sees the art within, the striking images that can be brought
out with the right focus on the right details in the right
light. And some scientists are starting to see things her way.
At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ms. Frankel, an
artist in residence, teaches researchers and students how to put
visual spice into their results. With a grant from the National
Science Foundation, she is writing a workbook to teach
scientists elsewhere how to do the same. Mixing art with
science, she said, bridges a gap that often keeps those who are
scientifically interested, but not expert, from grasping the
technical world. ''The visual expression of science is the first
level of comprehension,'' she said in an interview at the New
York Academy of Sciences, which is exhibiting her work. ''Many
people are frightened of science. But an arresting image gets
them to stop and ask: 'What's that?' '' The content of science
images, however, should not bec