Events

Watering Hole

Physics-Art Coordinator

Ayen Kuol works in the Art Sci Lab as Artist in Residence and coordinator to the Physics department. She holds a bachelor of Science in Physics and Interdisciplinary studies from the Florida International University. Her current interests lie in experimentation of multimodal ways to present scientific knowledge in intimacy to human perception.

Ayen Kuol

Cris holds a BSc. In Biological Anthropology and is currently a second-year master’s student in Applied Cognition and Neuroscience. He is interested in analyzing socio-cognitive aspects for the development of technology— most particularly the convergence between AI and culture. He is exploring this connection further in projects involved with Human-Computer Interaction, Brain-Computer Interfaces and Social Robotics. Other interests include interactive lighting and neurotechnology such as Brain-Computer Interfaces.

Cris Kubli

Jacob is an undergraduate student at the school of Arts, Technology and Emerging Communications at UT Dallas with a focus on product + graphic design and emerging technology.

Jacobs interest in product design began in high school when he founded a longboard company with his twin brother. The twin pair designed and built custom longboards out of their garage for over 3 years.

Currently, Jacob works for the lab as the international ambassador in Europe. In pursuit of his research goal Jacob travels Europe to meet with collaborators, attend events, and create new connections. He is the first official lab ambassador and hopes to pave the way for future international undergraduate work with his program "ArtSci Abroad".

Jacob Hunwick

Roger F. Malina is a space scientist and astronomer, with a specialty in extreme and ultraviolet astronomy, space instrumentation and optics. He served as director of the Observatoire Astronomique de Marseille Provence and was NASA Principal Investigator for the Extreme Ultraviolet Satellite project at the University of California, Berkeley.

He is also a publisher and editor in the new emerging research fields that connect the sciences and engineering to the arts, design and humanities. Since 1982, he has served as Executive Editor of the Leonardo Publications at MIT Press. He founded, and serves on the board of two nonprofits, ISAST in San Francisco and OLATS in Paris, which advocate and document the work of artists involved in contemporary science and technology.

He is currently a Distinguished Professor of Art and Technology and Professor of Physics, at the University of Texas at Dallas and Directeur de Recherche for the CNRS in France. He serves as the Associate Director of ATEC, and founded the ArtSciLab in the ATEC program fall 2013.

Roger Malina

<p>April 16th 2021 </p>



<p>What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you meet that Phrase Dark Matter?&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>Perhaps for a&nbsp;trained&nbsp; physicist, a collection of&nbsp;calculations ,&nbsp;models and experimental&nbsp;data&nbsp; would&nbsp;come up - indicating to the idea&nbsp;of&nbsp; the&nbsp;existence of dark&nbsp;matter&nbsp; rather&nbsp;than its actual form. Generally, dark matter is called&nbsp;dark ,because&nbsp;it emits no electromagnetic radiation.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>On April 16th<a href="https://utdallas.box.com/s/0417ec23pe1eb2ypyhwisg6jpykbhxc4"> </a>2021 at the watering hole,&nbsp;Lindsay&nbsp;king, through the vehicle of poetic performance, took&nbsp;us&nbsp; on&nbsp;a voyage from the center of our galaxy to its outer regions, transitioning between visible and dark matter being dominant, and into the large-scale cosmic web that forms the skeleton of the universe.</p>



<p>However, what do we discover about ourselves as we reflect on the concept of dark matter through the lens of our human lives?&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>What&nbsp;consequences&nbsp; does&nbsp;scientific&nbsp;terminology&nbsp; influenced&nbsp;the way that we think?&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



 



<p>Catch the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://utdallas.box.com/s/xm6p87dkzf1jue9ljqfm08ixui72e7dm" target="_blank">conversation</a> of&nbsp;us&nbsp;with&nbsp;&nbsp;Lindsay&nbsp;King ,&nbsp;Ayen&nbsp;Kuol ,&nbsp;Emeka&nbsp;Ikebude, Jacob Hunwick, Roger Malina,&nbsp;Chris ,&nbsp;Lagu Stephen in the linked podcast.</p>



<h3>Speaker Profile</h3>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft is-resized"><img src="https://profiles.utdallas.edu/storage/media/2334/conversions/5BCFE891-45EE-493D-B0DB-F1B183DC27EE-medium.jpg" alt="" width="181" height="181" /></figure></div>



<p>

Lindsay King grew up in Ireland, in a small town near Belfast. She specialized in physics at Cambridge and did her PhD work in astrophysics at Manchester. After postdoctoral work in the U.S. and Germany, she returned to Cambridge as a Royal Society university research fellow. She relocated to Dallas just over 9 years ago and is faculty in the physics dept. Her research program combines computational and theoretical astrophysics with analysis of real data. Projects include studying dark matter in clusters of galaxies (the most massive objects in the Universe) using computer simulations and real data. Other new theoretical work involves predicting Gravitational Wave signals from black holes that are gravitationally lensed by intervening objects, and assessing the impact of lensing on our understanding of black holes seen by current and future detectors.&nbsp;

</p>

A Poetic Conversation on Dark Matter                           with Dr. Lindsay King

Ayen_Kuol

<p>The ArtSci Lab at the University of Texas at Dallas is
conducting web based research: <em>Integrating
Domestic, Physical, and Virtual Spaces through Design (DPV.SI). </em>This study
examines the interaction between <em>domestic
architecture, technology, and human behavior. </em></p>



<p>How can we intentionally redesign physical spaces and online
spaces to more seamlessly interact? These intentional design decisions redesign
human culture and behaviors. This re-evaluation tackles design theory in
relation to an increasingly digital world.</p>



<p>The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically affected human lives
and behaviors and presents an interesting case study of the relationship
between domestic spaces and technology. Government-issued shelter-in-place
orders, self-quarantine, self-isolation, and social-distancing measures force
individuals and institutions to move social and professional interactions
online while remaining at home for extended periods. </p>



<p>As so much time is spent at home, domestic architectural
design elements increasingly affect daily routines and social interactions, at
home and online. The method of this study is to survey a variety of subjects
from different backgrounds. Analyzing their daily experiences and knowledge can
provide insight into better design.</p>



<p>Data gathered from how architectural and design decisions
influence human behaviors can reveal methods to more effectively design future
physical and virtual spaces. The results of this study can additionally be
applied to technological design to better facilitate communication, especially
video/audio.

Links to a Podcast and Questionnaire coming
soon. 



</p>

New Project: Integrating Domestic, Physical, and Virtual Spaces through Design (DPV.SI)

<p>The ArtSci Lab at the University of Texas at Dallas is
conducting web based research: <em>Integrating
Domestic, Physical, and Virtual Spaces through Design(DPV.SI). </em>This study
examines the interaction between <em>domestic
architecture, technology, and human behavior. </em></p>



<p>How can we intentionally redesign physical spaces and online
spaces to more seamlessly interact? These intentional design decisions redesign
human culture and behaviors. This re-evaluation tackles design theory in
relation to an increasingly digital world.</p>



<p>The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically affected human lives
and behaviors and presents an interesting case study of the relationship
between domestic spaces and technology. Government-issued shelter-in-place
orders, self-quarantine, self-isolation, and social-distancing measures force
individuals and institutions to move social and professional interactions
online while remaining at home for extended periods. </p>



<p>As so much time is spent at home, domestic architectural
design elements increasingly affect daily routines and social interactions, at
home and online. The method of this study is to survey a variety of subjects
from different backgrounds. Analyzing their daily experiences and knowledge can
provide insight into better design.</p>



<p>Data gathered from how architectural and design decisions
influence human behaviors can reveal methods to more effectively design future
physical and virtual spaces. The results of this study can additionally be
applied to technological design to better facilitate communication, especially
video/audio.</p>

DPV.SI

Integrating Domestic, Physical, and Virtual Spaces through Design

<p>
Griot
 Sayansi&nbsp; is a gateway&nbsp; for interdisciplinary, intercultural and 
interpersonal exchange using the Spoken Word Poetic expression .&nbsp;&nbsp;<br></p>



<p> Its aims include:</p>



<ul><li>
To bridge gaps, and explore&nbsp; connections&nbsp; between science, culture,art,and the human experience&nbsp; .
</li></ul>



<ul><li>

To provide a&nbsp; creative outlet for the community to explore new and meaningful networks&nbsp;
</li></ul>



<ul><li>
&nbsp;To promote collaborations&nbsp; between peoples of different cultures, backgrounds and disciplines&nbsp;&nbsp;
</li></ul>



<ul><li>
emphasize the&nbsp; value of life at the center of all&nbsp; discussion.
</li></ul>

NEW PROJECT: Griot Sayansi

<p>
Griot
 Sayansi&nbsp; is a gateway&nbsp; for interdisciplinary, intercultural and 
interpersonal exchange using the Spoken Word Poetic expression .&nbsp;&nbsp;<br></p>



<p> Its aims include: <br></p>



<ul><li>
To bridge gaps, and explore&nbsp; connections&nbsp; between science, culture,art,and the human experience&nbsp; .
</li></ul>



<ul><li>

To provide a&nbsp; creative outlet for the community to explore new and meaningful networks&nbsp;
</li></ul>



<ul><li>
&nbsp;To promote collaborations&nbsp; between peoples of different cultures, backgrounds and disciplines&nbsp;&nbsp;
</li></ul>



<ul><li>
emphasize the&nbsp; value of life at the center of all&nbsp; discussion.
</li></ul>

Griot Sayansi

Griot_Sayansi

Experimental Publishing

Technology and Culture Consultant

Cris_Kubli

UX Designer

profile-img-lrg

Thanks to more than a decade of experience working in the realm of film entertainment (ranging from film festival management to independent film production) and in the entrepreneurial world (in the tech, non-profit, and media sectors), Garcia Topete's research and practice cover and converge in three main areas under the broader scopes of Art-Science and Experimental Publishing of the ArtSciLab: transdisciplinary intelligence, innovation and collaboration theory, filmmaking research, and public engagement design.

Alex Garcia Topete

Chaz is interested in alternative modes of scholarship and publishing. As a PhD student in the ArtSciLab, he is designing experiments that tease out new ways of knowledge production, curation and dissemination.

Chaz Lilly

Yvan Tina is the Deputy Co-Director of Performative Research of the ArtSciLab and a PhD candidate at the School of Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication at UT Dallas. Yvan holds a PhD in performance studies from Aix-Marseille University, in France. His dissertation focuses on the notion of theatrically and how it is affected by the use of artificial life in performance art and installation. Additionally, he is in charge of developing the Virtual Africa platform which seek to promote the encounters between the arts and the technosciences in Africa and within the African diaspora.

Yvan Tina

<p>by Michael Warner</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p><em>Virtual Menageries</em> puts us back in time amongst the collective elites. Berland forms a cohesive genealogy of the “menagerie” to encourage, challenge, and deconstruct our modern perception of non-human animals and their relationship to human meaning and existence. <em>Virtual Menageries</em> looks through the lens of mediation to draw affective and emotional weight to animals as symbolic messengers in the digital era. From the giraffe, to the beaver, virtual art, digital communications, cats, birds and music Berland maps out how animals have become not only the mediators that bridge worlds together for good, but also as the trafficked subjects of terror: tools made to control, methods for silencing, opportunities to proliferate a message, and catalysts in profiteering.<br> &nbsp;<br> The book begins with a question that led to a series of other questions: “Why are there so many cats on the internet?” (Pg. 1) Which then led to thoughts about the roles of animals as symbols and figures in contexts. “How do animals help manage our perception of the Anthropocene? How do they disrupt our own relationship with digital technologies if they are so abundantly apart of them? If they are mediating in new ways, what content are they mediating, and in what context?” (Pg. 1) These are all questions that threw the book and Berland’s project into fruition.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;  </p></blockquote>



<p>To read the full review: </p>



<div class="wp-block-file"><a href="http://dev.atec.io/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2020/02/Leonardo_Review_of_Virtual_Menageries.docx">Review_of_Virtual_Menageries</a><a href="http://dev.atec.io/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2020/02/Leonardo_Review_of_Virtual_Menageries.docx" class="wp-block-file__button" download>Download</a></div>

A Review of Virtual Menageries: Animals as Mediators in Network Cultures

<p>Dr. James L. Carter, geoscientist, and  associate professor emeritus at the University of Texas at Dallas, passed away on September 21, 2019, in his home at the age of 82. To honor James Carter, ArtSciLab member Ayen Deng has written and performed a spoken word poem in memory of the way he inspired all those who attended his last lecture on September 20, 2019. The slides in this video are from his lecture to accompany the performance. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uKqRuyxdZw&amp;feature=youtu.be
</div></figure>



<p><br></p>

A Spoken Word on Life and Death

<p>The ArtSciLab has named
 Dr. Kathryn Evans, Associate Professor of Instruction in the School of 
Arts &amp; Humanities of UT Dallas, as Co-Director of Education 
Initiatives, while also promoting Dr. Yvan Tina and Alex Garcia Topete, two of its longest serving ATEC researchers, to the positions of Deputy Co-Directors of the lab. The leadership promotions come as part of a major re-design of the systems and processes of the ArtSciLab
 as it adapts to the challenges of managing research, strategy, 
organizational culture, and operations among a growing group of student 
lab members and external collaborators.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Dr.
 Evans, as Co-Director of Education Initiatives of the lab, will oversee
 the ArtSciLab’s projects that merge diverse disciplines in learning and
 teaching settings, particularly those involving the growing trend of 
turning education from “STEM” to “STEAM” education through the arts. Dr.
 Evans brings to the position not only her years of experience as an 
educator, but also her many talents as an academic researcher, singer, conductor, director, and producer. The ArtSciLab’s current education initiatives include CDASH (Curriculum Development in the Arts, Sciences and Humanities), ToTTS (Tale of Two Thinking Systems), and Arts-Based Learning for Business (ABLB)--all which were originated by Dr. Evans as a lab researcher.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Dr. Tina will now serve as Deputy Co-Director of Performative Research of the lab. Dr.
 Tina's expertise is in performance studies and he will oversee the 
research projects related to new forms of representation and curation of
 the arts, with an emphasis on scenic practices involving artificial 
intelligence and biotechnologies. His role will be to stimulate and 
strengthen the artistic output of the ArtSciLab. As a performative researcher, he is a founding member and manager of the multilingual and international podcast platform Creative Disturbance,
 which requires the coordination of a team composed of UX/UI designers, 
sound designers, and web developers.&nbsp; Dr. Tina is also a member of the Laboratoire d'Études en Sciences des Arts (LESA) of Aix-Marseille University and the artistic director of the Virtual Africa initiative of Leonardo/Olats. He lectures in a number of different venues and conferences and will participate this year to the Next Einstein Forum.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Mr.
 Garcia Topete will function as Deputy Co-Director of Transdisciplinary 
Strategy and Collaboration. His main duties will include overseeing the Experimental Publishing and Curation (ExPuCu)
 efforts of the lab, implementing systems and workflows with the aim of 
fostering creativity, innovation, and collaboration, and designing 
transdisciplinary strategies for teamwork and successful knowledge 
management. His almost two decades of experience in the creative 
industries as an international filmmaker and film festival organizer, as
 well as more than a decade in the entrepreneurial and non-profit world,
 make Mr. Garcia Topete particularly equipped with a multifaceted 
understanding and transnational perspective of knowledge exchange and 
social impact to deal with the current and future challenges of the ArtSciLab.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>“As
 the African proverb says: if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want
 to go far, go together; and we’re definitely trying to go far in our 
lab,” said Founding Executive Co-Director Dr. Roger Malina about the reasoning for the lab reorganization. With these new leadership positions and overall redesign, the ArtSciLab
 seeks to improve not only its operations and management, but also 
provide a better learning environment and culture in which its members 
and collaborators share knowledge more effectively, mentor each other in
 their areas of expertise with more ease, and develop further both 
professionally and personally through their lab participation. 
Ultimately, the ArtSciLab continues to pioneer in transdisciplinary issues—this time looking to boost the careers and development of everyone involved.&nbsp;</p>

ArtSciLab Promotes Three Researchers to Leadership Positions

<p>Cyber security refers to
the body of technologies, processes, and practices designed to protect
networks, devices, programs, and data from attack, damage, or unauthorized
access. Cybersecurity may also be referred to as information technology
security. These cyberattacks are usually
aimed at accessing, changing, or destroying sensitive information; extorting
money from users; or interrupting normal business processes. </p>



<p>As we continue in our Redesign phase, we have established
the idea of having a cybersecurity team. We have so much vulnerable files and
data which are prone to serious attack. I was informed about the recent attack
on Creative disturbance, where the hacker demanded bitcoin payment. If we had a
Cyber security plan, we would have had better methods of not only handling the
attack, but also preventing the lab from future attacks. </p>



<p>Cybersecurity is typically divided into two parts. The software, and the human behavior. The latter is the more difficult part. This plan will not only touch on software, but also the human behavior, teaching lab members what to do in order to prevent attacks, and generally safe computer and internet practices.</p>



<div class="wp-block-file"><a href="https://dev.atec.io/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2020/04/ASL-Cybersecurity-Plan-v1.pdf">ASL-Cybersecurity-Plan-v1</a><a href="https://dev.atec.io/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2020/04/ASL-Cybersecurity-Plan-v1.pdf" class="wp-block-file__button" download>Download</a></div>

Cybersecurity in the Times of Pandemic

<p>Dr. Frank Dufour will be pursuing research at the intersection of transdisciplinarity, learning, and emerging technologies through the ArtSciLab's existing projects, such as HERMES and Experimental Publishing.</p>



<p>Frank is a researcher and artist exploring in both scientific and artistic practices the poietic aspects of perception. In a recent publication, “Musical composition as a lived experience”, he proposes a description of the particular perception of time arising during the process of composing music. </p>



<p><a href="http://links-series.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/La-composition-musicale-comme-exp%C3%A9rience.pdf">http://links-series.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/La-composition-musicale-comme-exp%C3%A9rience.pdf</a></p>



<p>Frank is currently developing a phenomenological method
to study the relationships and exchanges between Arts, Technology, and Sciences.
As part of this project, he is interested in imagining a radically new approach
to interdisciplinary education.</p>



<p>Frank is the co-founder with xtine burrough of the
Laboratory for Synthetic and Experimental poetry, LabSynthe.</p>



<p>Portfolio: <a href="http://agence5970.com/frank-dufour-portfolio">http://agence5970.com/frank-dufour-portfolio</a></p>

Frank Dufour joins the ArtSciLab as a Researcher

<figure class="wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://youtu.be/lJlBJ-NagLM
</div></figure>



<p class="has-large-font-size"><a href="https://medium.com/@looplogic/halloween-transmissions-machine-listening-from-the-diary-of-ana%C3%AFs-nin-276f67d71068?sk=336e1b3958336f3ee0952e0bbbb3d4f5">Full article @ Medium.</a></p>

Halloween Transmissions: Machine Listening from the Diary of Anaïs Nin

<p> ArtSciLab Colleagues:</p>



<p>I would like to draw your  attention to the Recent YASMIN WWWASP discussion (the Who, what where  of our artscience community of practice)- Led by Guillermo Munoz with  several colleagues across the world (see at end of this post). The  YASMIN list is an international list of artscience professionals and  amateurs and observers.</p>



<p>The discussion is now open to any colleague on the Tasmin list- we look forward to your thoughts: If you aren't on <a href="https://ntlab.gr/mailman/listinfo/yasmin_discussions_ntlab.gr">YASMIN</a>: </p>



<p>I just posted this to YASMIN</p>



<p>"I would like to pick up on Salome Cuesta proposal for ‘micro-actions’ in our<br>art-science communities of practice, and Diamond Berverly’s  idea of<br>a ‘continous conundrum (see below).</p>



<p>After 30 years as Executive Editor of Leonardo, for the first time I am<br>now deeply engaged as a practitioner in art science collaborations. I<br>like
 to joke that astrophysics was so easy ! We all agreed on the success 
criteria and used the same concepts, methods and terminology. Plus we 
were very well funded in comparison with artscience research.</p>



<p>  Thanks to Guillermo Munoz and colleagues at the University of Valencia I  received a PhD in Art, so I am now an ArtScience ‘postdoc’ with a PhD  in astrophysics and a PhD in art !</p>



<p>As James Leach pointed out in  his Leonardo article <a href="https://cnrs.academia.edu/JamesLeach">(Extending Contexts, Making Possibilities: An  Introduction to Evaluating the Projects - James Leach)</a> many many art science collaborations ‘fail’ in achieving  their original objectives.</p>



<p>In our ArtSciLab  we have been arguing that there is a very big step between inter/multi  disciplinary collaborations and ‘trans’ disciplinary collaborations  which bridge very very different disciplines with very very different  personal and collective success criteria, and very very  different often  contradictory methods, concepts , terminologies-</p>



<p>These are in Diamond Berverly’s term ‘conundral;- see Merriam Webster</p>



<p>“The  exact origin of conundrum isn’t known with certainty. What is known is  that the word has been in use since the early 1600s, and that it had  various spellings, such as conimbrum, quonundrum, conuncrum, and  quadundrum, before the current spelling was finally established sometime  in the mid-17th century. One theory of origin suggests that the word  was coined as a parody of Latin by students at Oxford University, where  it appears to have enjoyed particular popularity in its “word play” or  “pun” sense. While the prevalent sense in this century is that of the  seemingly unanswerable question or problem, frequently applied to heady  dilemmas involving ethics, sociology, or economics, the word is  sometimes so loosely applied to anything enigmatic as to be synonymous  with puzzle or mystery.”</p>



<p>One of the strategies we have been 
trying is “micro-projects” in Cuesta’s terminology- we define them as 
short duration ( weeks), projects which require no money or cash, only 
gift exchange of time and access to facilities, expertise etc ( the gift
 exchange vocabulary comes from James Leach )</p>



<p>In the ArtSciLab we  are approached continuously by ‘stem’ professionals who want to  collaborate. Interestingly these range from physical sciences and  engineering to the brain and Behavioural sciences to business and social  sciences…</p>



<p>Often  the stem professionals who reach out to us,  “they” have antiquated ideas of what making art involves or results in  today. Often they view art as less primary in the ‘tree of knowledge” (i.e. in a branch not in the trunk). </p>



<p>Often  they have very different methods , concepts, terminology (we are  trying to develop transdisciplinary apprenticeships as part of the  approach). Mauricio Mejia at ASU, Alex Topete, colleagues, and I are  currently submitting a workshop proposal on applying translation studies  methods to transdisciplinary collaborations.</p>



<p>If a micro-project doesn't succeed, its likely that a significant project won't in our experience.</p>



<p>I am delighted that a student research in our ArtSciLab , Diamond Beverly, has proposed:<br>“how  do we go about including diverse voices and fostering heterogeneous  approaches instead unconsciously excluding people from the conversation  and thus creating a continuous conundrum.” which highlights the implicit  bias of the artscience community towards people in academia with its  ethnic, gender, socio-economic and other implicit social biases.</p>



<p>Maybe the non -academic and  younger members of Yasmin should weigh in, just as from Diamond Berverly:<br>I was very intrigued with your post last week when you  emphasized<br>educational spaces and work shop methodologies. I would like to know<br>how you define micro-actions. I also find such maker spaces and<br>hackathons a good step into the future of collaborative educational<br>space. A question that persists however is how these spaces find their<br>audience?</p>



<p>And by this I mean how do we go about including diverse voices and fostering heterogeneous approaches instead unconsciously excluding people from the conversation and thus creating a continuous conundrum.</p>



<p>So all Latin  students on Yasmin go at it :<br>"One theory of origin of ‘conundrum” suggests that the word was coined  as a parody of Latin by students at Oxford University, where it appears  to have enjoyed particular popularity in its “word play” or “pun” sense.  While the prevalent sense in this century is that of the seemingly  unanswerable question or problem, frequently applied to heady dilemmas  involving ethics, sociology, or economics, the word is sometimes so  loosely applied to anything enigmatic as to be synonymous with puzzle or  mystery."</p>



<p>Or maybe living in a continuous conundrum is a  desirable state ? Certainly it is a state that drives our ArtScience work  and is generative of desired outcomes.</p>



<p>Roger Malina</p>



<p>P.S These are the invited discussants:</p>



<p>Jadwiga
 Charzynska: I am the director of LAZNIA CCA in Gdansk since 2004 and in
 our program, one of the most important points is the Art + Science 
Meeting project, which we organize regularly from 2011. It’s really 
unique program in Poland presented Art / Sci projects.<br>Links: <a href="http://www.laznia.pl/instytucja/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">http://www.laznia.pl/instytucja/</a></p>



<p>Joao
 Silveira: Brazilian entrepreneur, choreographer and pharmacist. Was a 
Harvard Fellow (Le Laboratoire/ 2017-2019) and currently is a research 
fellow at the ArtSciLab – UT Dallas, and CienciArte Lab – Fiocruz.<br>Jing
 Chen: Associate professor of Arts and associate director of Art and 
Cultural Innovation and Creativity Lab of Nanjing University.<br>Gustavo
 Ariel Schwartz.: Physicist and writer. Scientist of the Spanish 
National Research Council (CSIC) at the Materials Physics Center. 
Founder director of the Mestizajes Program, at the Donostia 
International Physics Center, whose purpose is to explore and cross the 
borders among Art, Science, Literature and Humanities.</p>



<p></p>

Micro ArtScience Actions (MASA)

ExPuCu

Culture and AI

Experimental Publishing and Curation (ExPuCu) is the initiative of ArtSciLab to promote the idea of easy and fast publication

Director

roger-malina

Joao Silveira

<p>Aaron Tate is the Head of Emerging Tech at Center for BrainHealth and Technology Lead on the BrainHealth Project. His game Digital Emotes was an honorable mention at the 2020 Games for Change – VR Alcove competition. Aaron was a member of the 2019 Oculus Launchpad Cohort, Co-founded VR for Good-DFW and was awarded a MegaGrant from Epic Games for Charisma, a social training platform which was also a finalist in the 2017 International Educational Games Competition in Graz, Austria. His current research involves immersion, biofeedback, data visualization and human-computer interface.</p>

Aaron Tate

<p>Studying the brain has given me a unique perspective on how&nbsp;people process information and interact with the world.&nbsp;I became interested in user experience research to apply my expertise in&nbsp;brain and&nbsp;behavioral sciences to help designers develop products that complement the underlying mechanisms of cognition with principles of human factors and human computer interaction.&nbsp;</p>



<p>While earning my bachelor's degree in Neuroscience with a minor in Performing Arts, my interests converged to conduct a research project investigating transfer appropriate processing and how attention influences memory of music with the NeuroPsychometric Research Lab. Proceeding to earn my master's degree in Applied Cognition and Neuroscience, I continued to study music and conduct research investigating factors that influence visual and auditory memory distortions.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In the ArtSciLab, I have collaborated on projects researching applications of multimodal&nbsp;visual and auditory representations of information, and conducted user experience research and usability testing on these applications as well as the redesign of the university website navigation system. Current projects in the lab are researching the enhanced cognitive capabilities and well-being&nbsp;of Esports players.&nbsp;</p>



<p>As an avid musician, I also teach piano lessons, training people to interpret visual representations of music via interaction with the instrument to create the pleasurable experience of music.</p>

Kristen Deupree

Hello, I am a graduate of the Behavioral &amp; Brain Science school with a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Texas at Dallas. I am currently working in UTD's ArtSciLab under Dr. Roger Malina as the Project Manager for Esports Player Development project which promotes cognitive longevity and positive psychosocial behaviors of the 21st-century athlete and gaming communities through qualitative research.

During my academic career at UT Dallas, I was a RA for Dr. Walter J. Dowling’s Music Perception &amp; Cognition Lab as well as Dr. Karen Prager’s Couples Daily Lives Lab. During an independent study, I investigated the positive affect induced by musical tempos in the fall of 2018. Over the summer of 2018, I interned for UT Southwestern’s Center for Depression Research and Clinical Care where I researched Cognitive Impairments Influenced by Parental Relationships in Major Depressive Disorder.

In addition to research, I have been President of the Sigma Kappa Delta English Honors Society and founder of Eastfield’s Outdoor Club. I am also a member of Psi Chi International Honor Society in Psychology (UTD Chapter President for 2019), Phi Theta Kappa, National Honors Society, and The National Society of Leadership and Success.

I began my journey with the ArtSciLab as Dr. Kathryn Evans’ Research Assistant during the implementation of CDASH curriculum at UT Dallas in spring 2019. Since graduation, I have worked on other projects involving the merging of disciplines: Art-Based Learning for Business (ABLB) and Tale of Two Thinking Systems (ToTTS).

Lauren Ashley Bernal

<p style="text-align:center">The newest edition of the comprehensive Annotated Bibliography of the Esports Player Development (EPD) project is available!</p>



<div class="wp-block-button aligncenter is-style-outline"><a class="wp-block-button__link has-text-color has-vivid-red-color has-background has-luminous-vivid-amber-background-color" href="https://mailchi.mp/2d475b5f9645/e-sports-player-development">Subscribe to the EPD newsletter to receive the publication</a></div>

2nd Edition of the EPD Annotated Bibliography

<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter is-resized"><img src="http://dev.atec.io/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2020/01/ARTSCILAB-TALKSHOW-LOGO-1024x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-3475" width="294" height="294" /></figure></div>



<p>Produced and created by Maisha Razzaque, a new series has launched on <em>The</em> <em>Bold Roast: Student Conversations</em> channel on Creative Disturbance.</p>



<p>The ArtSciLab is home to collaborations between artists and scientists who investigate topics such as experimental publishing, data sonification, data visualization, and the hybridization of art and science. This series is an audio experience that allows the spotlight to fall on its members as they talk to us about their careers, contributions, and passions.</p>



<p><a href="https://creativedisturbance.org/podcast/pilot-ft-lauren-bernhal/">Click here to listen to the first episode of </a><em><a href="https://creativedisturbance.org/podcast/pilot-ft-lauren-bernhal/">The ArtSciLab Talk Show. </a></em></p>



<p></p>



<p></p>

ArtSciLab Talkshow: A new series on The Bold Roast

<p><em> The Initiative to Enhance the Esports Player Cognitive Performance &amp; Wellbeing. </em></p>



<div class="wp-block-file"><a href="https://dev.atec.io/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2019/10/ESportCyberathleteDevelopmentAnnotatedBibliography-October2019.pdf"> Annotated bibliography: The Emergence of Esports. (v. 1.0)</a><a href="https://dev.atec.io/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2019/10/ESportCyberathleteDevelopmentAnnotatedBibliography-October2019.pdf" class="wp-block-file__button" download>Download</a></div>



<p>This Esports Cyberathlete Development (ECD) project launched by the University of  Texas at Dallas’ ArtSciLab aims to contribute to design one of the first new sports of the 21st century.</p>



<p>Our efforts aim to:<br> (1) Promote positive values obtained from participating on an Esports team;<br> a. Investigate the enhanced cognitive abilities through the strategically-complex gameplay of Esports<br> b. Investigate the positive social developments that occur in and out of the Esports environment<br> (2) Focus on relieving the stigmatized universe of Esports concerning gender stereotypes and effects on intellectual performance;<br> a. Our research aims to increase overall inclusivity among various demographics and how its benefits are not discriminatory towards any gender<br> (3) Help to integrate the skills learned by the Esports players into their lives during and after their Esports careers;<br> a. Analysis of cognitive skills acquired by gamers during their gameplay, how such skills can generally transfer to real-world application, and to increase their executive longevity.</p>



<p></p>

Esports Cyberathlete Development (ECD): An Annotated Bibliography

<h3> <em>Hello, we are from the ArtSciLab’s Esports Player Development (EPD) team! We understand that while gaming culture has acquired a stigma of sorts over time, it has also served as a healthy escape and a source of interaction in dire times such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Two of our members, Semra Zamurad (Research Fellow) and Lauren Bernal (Project Manager), who both had a B.S. in Psychology, have written this blog as examples of how COVID-19 has impacted their lives and how gaming allowed them to restore mental health and their social relationships.  </em></h3>



<h4><a href="https://artscilab.atec.io/projects/e-sport-cyberathlete-development"><strong>Semra is a co-design and research assistant on the EPD team</strong></a> that graduated from Texas Woman’s University in May of 2019. An avid gamer herself, she spends much of her free time playing JRPGs (Japanese Role-Playing Games) and watching streams. Her relationship with gaming started when she was young, and while it has changed plenty over time, she admits that nothing quite prepared her for the way it would be impacted by COVID-19 and how that would help her relationships continue to flourish in spite of the pandemic.</h4>



<p>Gaming has always been a part of
my life, serving as the happy medium between TV shows I wish I could play a
part in and books that were thrilling but not as engaging. Such games gave me
the chance to play an active role in stories that were meant to help my
character realize their true potential, something I struggled to do in my real
life, especially while growing up. Eventually though, I did grow up and out of
that mentality, and as a result, games became less of an escape from my reality
and more of a fun pastime whenever I was not busy. I still quite enjoyed the
plot twists and gameplay, but I was no longer dependent on it to build my
confidence in real life, something I do believe was a positive development. I
had grown to combat negative emotions by going to my favorite boba cafe or
rendezvousing with friends at the mall. However, with the drastic shift in
lifestyle caused by stay-at-home orders and safety precautions brought on by
the onset of COVID-19, I suddenly found my hands tied, and for the first time
in a while, I had too much time and not enough to do. In an attempt to fill my
days with more than napping and despairing about the situation, I once again
found solace in gaming.</p>



<p>It is important that I mention,
though, that gaming felt very different now. As I live at home with my parents,
I was so used to complaints from my family about how much time I spent playing
and how that time could be better spent on other activities. However, as of
late, the home has been fairly quiet; even more surprising is how often
different members of the family will come into the room I am playing in to ask
about how it is going and what the story is, conversations that have seldom
taken place before because there was little interest for gaming on my family’s
part outside of myself. It is certainly a welcome reaction, but shocking
nonetheless.</p>



<p>And it is not just their views on
gaming that have seemed to change; I have noticed it in myself and my friends
as well. I am frequently engaging with friends via discord, often joining in
general calls to converse at various times in the day. Many of my friends are
from all over the world, but we share common interests such as gaming; the
divide comes in the form of the types of games we prefer to play. Interestingly
enough, in an effort to move the conversation away from the constant gloom
brought on by the state of the world, game suggestions, invitations, and
streams have become a daily occurrence. Many of us have become much more
open-minded about the series and the types of games we normally play in an
effort to connect with each other more; as new releases continue to happen on
time, more and more of us have started playing the same games, which often come
with online connection features that allow us to play with each other in real
time. Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Persona 5, and Animal Crossing have become
household names, and we continue to play outside of discord calls via iMessage
games, effectively closing the mental and emotional distance between us. And
still, we endeavor to find new games to play, bringing new things to talk
about, new characters and stories to share, more advice to exchange, and
discussions about strategies to implement. </p>



<p>The feeling of being active in a
virtual world with different circumstances is contagious and has lifted our
spirits immensely, and I believe it has a lot to do with embodied cognition. In
many of these games, we each play a character that is given choices on how to respond
to the world around them, and we are encouraged to respond in the way we would
if we found ourselves in the same situation. Seeing those choices bring about
change and ultimately progress the story rewards the players themselves by
giving them a sense of hope. Each plot presents obstacles that often seem
insurmountable at the beginning, but little by little, the player earns
experience, builds rapport with other characters, and takes on challenge after
challenge to ultimately succeed against all odds, and although it is the
character in the game that is executing each action, it is the player who
thoughtfully plans out each move and sees the fruits of their efforts.</p>



<p>Most games, if not all, are designed to give one a sense of hope and accomplishment, something that is missing from many of our lives currently as we guess and check new ways of surviving all that COVID-19 has thrown at us. With successful attempts to ride out this pandemic being far and few in between, it makes sense that many feel hopeless and trapped. But so did our characters at the beginning of each game; they too had to seek support from others, just as we rely on each other now; they too faced a long and arduous journey that tested their resolve, just as ours is being tested day by day; and they still succeeded, just as we will. If we can survive what these games put us through, we can get through this as well.</p>



<h4><a href="https://artscilab.atec.io/projects/e-sport-cyberathlete-development"><strong>Lauren is the Project Manager for EPD</strong></a>. She received her B.S. in Psychology May of 2019 from UT Dallas’ Behavioral &amp; Brain Sciences school. Her background in research is diversified from <a href="https://www.utdallas.edu/research/mpac/people/">Music Perception in Cognition</a> to <a href="https://couplesdailylives.wixsite.com/site">Couples’ Daily Lives</a>. She joined UTD’s ArtSciLab January 2019 and has launched this project since March of 2019. With the help of her EPD team, she has been able to lead its emergence. The EPD team worked together to publish an <a href="https://artscilab.atec.io/blog/esports-cyberathlete-development-ecd-an-annotated-bibliography"><em>Annotated Bibliography: The Emergence of Esports</em> (PDF available for download)</a><em> </em>and the 2<sup>nd</sup> Edition to be published June 12<sup>th</sup>, a recorded an interview with the ArtSciLab’s podcast <a href="https://creativedisturbance.org/podcast/pilot-ft-lauren-bernhal/"><em>Creative Disturbance: Bold Roast</em></a>, launched its website <a href="http://www.esports-epd.com">www.esports-epd.com</a>, and submitting grant proposals with UTD’s Center for BrainHealth, Center for Vital Longevity, Mavs Gaming, and Complexity Gaming. Though she mostly handles managerial tasks for the project, she recognizes the increased acceptance of gaming in times of the pandemic and the affects it has made on her team. </h4>



<p>Personally, I have felt
lethargic, apathetic, and depressed over the past few weeks. It (COVID-19) has
affected my regular work schedule by making my hours less consistent than
usual. On the other hand, it has helped me to see how important EPD is. Our
pitch: “How do we reform the 21<sup>st</sup> century sport in a way that does
not harm the players mentally or physically?” really holds during this time of
crisis. Some differences I have noticed it has made for my team and being a
Project Manager: 1) We have been able to stay well connected on professional
and personal levels, and 2) As a PM in the UTD ArtSciLab, it has strengthened
my trust in the members for my team to deliver and take initiative on their ideas.
I have been thoroughly impressed by their commitment to affirm our goals with
EPD. </p>



<p>In a sociocultural perspective, I
have seen gaming bring people closer together. With confinement, virtual
realities are all the more enticing. Members on the EPD team (Semra, Peter,
Kristen, and Cris) have each reacted differently to the pandemic with what they
can produce within EPD and online. For instance, Kristen has started streaming
her gameplays on Twitch.tv, Cris has created our EPD website, <a href="http://www.esports-pd.com">www.esports-pd.com</a>, and Semra and Peter have been
more engaged with esports communities than before by communicating with friends
through Discord servers and following streams. </p>



<p>The community in general has
shown impressive acts for adaptation. One example of this is a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CA0Ma-8JZyN/">professor
used Animal Crossing: New Horizons to create a simulation of his classroom</a> (post shared from Instagram, but
message from professor was communicated through Discord). The students were
offered the opportunity to journey with their avatar to the professor’s land,
sit in the classroom, while they took a real-life exam. Another example of how
people are exercising their creative abilities is using Minecraft for virtual
dates! Love is in the air, even when we have to wear face masks, so why not
indulge in a novel way to meet someone? </p>



<p>Times are hard right now, but we
will persevere – one simulation at a time. </p>

Isolation &amp; Gaming: The Escapes of Leveling Up in the Virtual World

<p>by Semra Zamurad</p>



<p>As an avid gamer myself, I was drawn to the Esports
Cyberathlete Development (ECD) co-design group’s mission: to gain a better
understanding of how gaming supports positive social and cognitive growth in
cyberathletes. My educational background is rooted in psychology and I am
interested in how technology can be used to benefit psychological background
and research. To learn more about this, I am lending my expertise in studying
human behavior from a biopsychosocial standpoint to the efforts of the ECD
team.</p>



<p>As we move forward on our academic journey, we have
discovered the necessity of operationally defining the behaviors we seek to
understand and making sure that those definitions remain consistent across
raters. To operationally define a behavior essentially means to define a
behavior in a specific, concrete, and measurable way. This is especially
important when more than one researcher will be taking part in an observation.
For example, if we were looking for signs of exhaustion, one observer may
consider rubbing eyes to be a sign of exhaustion while another observer does
not. High levels of inter-rater reliability (referring to how similar the data
collection is between the observers) are imperative to the success of study
that has key qualitative components. As such, I was tasked with looking into
places that the ECD co-design group could practice observing gamers in their
natural environment, as well as compiling a list of non-academic resources
members could use to supplement their general knowledge of gaming culture.</p>



<p>The following list refers to several locations within the DFW complex that offer gamers and those interested in learning more about Esports a site to gather at and to take part in the experience there.</p>



<ul><li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ggezgamingcafe">EZ Gaming Café </a><ul><li>Vibe: minimalistic; snacks and drinks offered from deep freezer, metal shelves<ul><li>Hosts local tournaments</li></ul><ul><li>Offers PC gaming and consoles (Nintendo Switch, PS4)</li></ul></li></ul></li></ul>



<ul><li><a href="http://nerdvanafrisco.com/">Nerdvana</a><ul><li>Vibe: “Games with your coffee” kind of place; café/bar first, with games you can play while eating/drinking<ul><li>Café and board games</li></ul><ul><li>Bar and videogames</li></ul><ul><li>Free to play with minimum $10/person purchase</li></ul></li></ul></li></ul>



<ul><li><a href="https://geekletes.gg/">Geekletes</a> <ul><li>Vibe: grassroots Esports competitions that serves as a training ground for aspiring gamers<ul><li>Host local tournaments</li></ul><ul><li>Provide courses on how to navigate and excel in the industry</li></ul><ul><li>Recruiting and exposure</li></ul></li></ul></li></ul>



<ul><li><a href="http://javagamingcafe.com/">Java Gaming Café</a> <ul><li>Vibe: minimalistic but luxurious<ul><li>Serves drinks to players at their PCs</li><li>Two floors</li><li>Hosts local tournaments</li><li>Offers PC gaming and consoles (PS4, Wii U, Xbox One)</li></ul></li></ul></li></ul>



<ul><li><a href="https://playlivenation.com/">PLAYlive Nation at Stonebriar Centre</a><ul><li>Vibe: social gaming
lounge housed in Frisco, powered by Simplicity Esports (merged); high-tech
aesthetic (blue neon lights, generally dark, leather seating)<ul><li>Specializes in Xbox One and popular table games (e.g., Magic the
Gathering)</li></ul><ul><li>Offers VR gaming</li></ul></li></ul></li></ul>



<ul><li><a href="https://www.facebook.com/AK.PCCAFE/">AK PC Gaming Café</a><ul><li>Vibe: similar look to an
office building; identifies as an Internet café<ul><li>PC gaming, web browsing, workstation</li></ul><ul><li>Offers food and drinks (snacks, soft drinks, coffee, fries)</li></ul></li></ul></li></ul>



<ul><li><a href="https://esportsstadium.gg/gaming-center/">Esports Stadium Arlington Gaming Center</a><ul><li>Vibe: largest dedicated
Esports facility in North America<ul><li>Offers PC gaming and consoles (PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One)<ul><li>Must bring your own controllers and headsets, or rent some from
them</li></ul></li></ul><ul><li>Hosts local tournaments</li></ul><ul><li>Offers food, drinks, and merchandise</li></ul></li></ul></li></ul>



<p></p>



<p>However, simply being aware of the existence of these places may prove to be insufficient in supplementing our comprehension of gaming culture even if we were to visit. In order to effectively supplement our collective knowledge on Esports and gaming in general, I also put together a list of non-academic resources that are easily accessible and may explain cultural concepts in a simpler fashion. This list includes apps, attractions, and movies to gain a better understanding of Esports’ evolution.</p>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright is-resized"><img src="https://dev.atec.io/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2020/02/image-1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-3514" width="66" height="66" /></figure></div>



<ul><li><a href="https://www.webtoons.com/en/action/no-scope/list?title_no=1572">WEBTOON: No Scope by ZOYANG</a><ul><li>A webcomic about a fictional Esports game called PSI BOND and high school players attempting to become pro players</li></ul><ul><li>Gives insight into player housing, recruiting, team building, basic aspects of Esports, women in Esports, Esports in Korea</li></ul></li></ul>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright is-resized"><img src="https://dev.atec.io/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2020/02/image-2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-3515" width="58" height="62" /></figure></div>



<ul><li><a href="https://www.webtoons.com/en/romance/letsplay/list?title_no=1218">WEBTOON: Let’s Play by Mongie</a><ul><li>A webcomic about a game developer whose game is given a bad review by an Internet celebrity (“lets-player”).</li></ul><ul><li>Gives insight into different types of games and gamers, impact of a gaming-centered career on mental and physical health, skills necessary to excel in a gaming-centered career (mainly game development)</li></ul></li></ul>



<p></p>



<ul><li><a href="http://www.nvmusa.org/">National Videogame Museum</a><ul><li>Provides history of gaming and the industry as well as interactive
exhibits</li></ul></li></ul>



<p></p>



<ul><li>BBC documentary: The Supergamers/Rise of the Supergamer<ul><li>Looks into the lives of select teams and players as they train, live together, and learn to play together, striving for the common goal of making it big as a cyberathlete</li></ul></li></ul>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF52roUWkFM
</div><figcaption>Preview</figcaption></figure>



<p></p>



<ul><li>Netflix documentary: League of Legends Origins<ul><li>Details the rise of the popular MMOBA game League of Legends, its start as a free demo to an Esport game</li></ul></li></ul>



<figure class="wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_59wZ27ROE
</div><figcaption>Trailer</figcaption></figure>



<p></p>



<p>If you or someone you know enjoys
visiting any of the aforementioned gaming points or is aware of more
non-academic resources that can help explain gaming culture, please feel free
to contact the Esports Co-Design Group Project Manager, Lauren Bernal, at
Lauren.Bernal@UTDallas.edu.</p>

Local Esports Gaming Hubs!

This Esports Player Development project launched by the University of Texas at Dallas’ ArtSciLab aims to contribute to design one of the first new sports of the 21 st century by promoting cognitive longevity and positive psychosocial behaviors of cyber-athletes and gaming communities through qualitative research.

Esport Player Development

Esports

This E-Sport Cyberathlete Development project launched by the University of Texas at Dallas’ ArtSciLab aims to contribute to design one of the first new sports of the 21 st  century.

Every year, thousands of Indian students and hundreds of Tamil students make their way across the oceans towards to the land of opportunities in pursuit of their dream to master their craft. This channel is a way of trying to trace that journey by sharing the experiences of other students who are just as much trying to find their way through amazingly rewarding maze. Graduate Students Gautam Sharma and Aadhavan Sibi and with their interesting list of guests from different walks of life go through their experiences right from their Visa Interviews through finding themselves among the sea of familiar yet strange face to the dreaded job hunt. Strap on your seatbelts, we are flying to meet Uncle Sam.

In this episode of A mudhal America varai, “Visa Villangam” Gautam Sharma and Aadhavan Sibi discuss the villangams involved in the nerve-wracking process of getting your visa approved and your flight experience. From the WhatsApp groups, to the long queue at the consulate, to the harrowing experience of flying out of country all by yourself, none of us did this without some help from other fellow students. This is just us trying to tell other people that they are not alone in feeling that way, by sharing our experience of how we dealt with all of that ourselves.

Listen to this episode by visiting <a href="https://creativedisturbance.org/podcast/visa-வில்லங்கம்/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visa வில்லங்கம் at Creative Disturbance</a>.

Creative Disturbance new podcast in தமிழ்

<a href="http://dev.atec.io/lab-member/ela-detecio/">Graziella “Ela” Detecio</a> worked on the ArtSciLab team as a Junior Designer. During her time here, she contributed to the design of project and marketing materials of the lab. As it’s time for her to move on to the next step in her career, Yvan Tina, team leader of Creative Disturbance, sat down with Ela and asked her a few questions as a part of her transition out of the ArtSciLab.

<strong>What attracted her to the ArtSciLab position?</strong>

Ela found the ArtSciLab through cofounder, Cassini Nazir. This job was a chance for her to gain design and marketing experience and work toward her career goals: consulting or client-based work for a creative marketing or design firm.

<strong>How did Ela rate her experience the ArtSciLab overall?</strong>

Towards the end, the position was not exactly what Ela expected it to be. She was expecting more graphic design and marketing work from the position and would have preferred it if there were clear goals because some of the ideas were good but seemed to “trickle into obscurity.” Creative Disturbance, though, was an overall good experience.

<strong>Is there any new skill or insight that Ela has acquired through the experience?</strong>

Ela valued the experience running the ArtSciLab website, as well as the exposure to academic research conducted in a lab.

<strong>What would she change from her experience?</strong>

After Ela’s mentor Cassini transitioned, she felt lost in her role. A more consistent art/design supervisor would have been ideal.

<strong>According to Ela, what makes a good manager and what should be their attributes?</strong>

Ela says it’s important for a manager to set an overall vision for the team by identifying practical goals to work towards. She valued Roger encouraging students to pursue their interests within the lab

<strong>What are some difficulties of teamwork?</strong>

Communication with the team is a difficulty. She found that horizontal hierarchy presents challenges for the younger student workers. Using Trello and Airtable for transparency and progress tracking can improve these issues within the lab.

<strong>What project management experience did she learn?</strong>

“I learned a lot” Ela says. The structured nature of Creative Disturbance taught her that organization can lead to improved productivity.

<strong>Where is she heading next?</strong>

Ela is joining the Student Union and Activities Advisory Board (SUAAB) at UT Dallas to work with the marketing chair on developing awareness of SUAAB on campus.

Graziella's Journey as a Junior Designer at the ArtSciLab

Creative Disturbance is an international and multilingual podcast platform that facilitates collaboration between individuals in art, science, and technology communities. It was created in 2014 by the ArtSciLab of the School of Arts, Technology and Emerging Communication of UT Dallas, with the support of The MIT Press and Leonardo/ISAST. It is primarily run by UT Dallas students, with oversight and assistance from faculty.

Creative Disturbance has been made possible thanks to the success of a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign and the generous contribution of donors. On December 8, 2014,133 backers pledged $21,511 to keep Creative Disturbance running. The podcasts are since then recorded and produced by individuals who have an interest in art, science, design, education or technology. As promised during the campaign, the funding generated through this initiative has served to award international grants to students and young professionals across the world (Canada, China, Columbia, Egypt, Kenya, Portugal, South Africa, Sweden, and Turkey so far). In return, the students have created a series of podcasts of their interests.

After four years of activity, Creative Disturbance has covered a wide range of topics such as the advancements of generative art and virtual reality, the ethics and aesthetics of artificial life art, the field of sonification, the meaning of Persian sculpture and mythology, the aesthetics of Chinese contemporary new media art, the dynamics of African diasporas and the Afrofuturist movement, the evolution of digital art in Latin America, the emergence of interactive architecture and synthetic biology, the impact of climate change in environmental art, the story of women engineering, the relationships between gender and economics, technology, race, and sexuality, etc. Today, more than 40 channels have been created by a network of local and international collaborators in the fields of art, science and technology. Creative Disturbance is 480 podcasts published in 16 languages listened in more than 145 countries for a total of 94,408 downloads. We intend to continue this effort by promoting multilinguism, transdisciplinarity and experimentation in the next phases of our development.

Creative Disturbance

audio-device-macro-55800

Multimedia

Creative Disturbance is an international and multilingual podcast platform that facilitates collaboration between individuals in art, science, and technology communities. It was created in 2014 by the ArtSciLab of the School of Arts, Technology and Emerging Communication of UT Dallas, with the support of The MIT Press and Leonardo/ISAST. It is primarily run by UT Dallas students, with oversight and assistance from faculty.

<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: center">Associate Professor of Instruction - Arts And Humanities</p>
<p style="text-align: center">University of Texas at Dallas</p>
</blockquote>
Kathryn Evans, Ph.D., is a singer, conductor, director, producer and researcher in arts and science. Dr. Evans was the Associate Dean for the Arts of the School of Arts and Humanities at The University of Texas at Dallas from 1995 to 2010. Dr. Evans holds M. A. degrees in Mathematics and in Music and a Ph.D. in Art and Technology, with an emphasis on arts education in the 21st century. She is a member of the Art-Sci Lab in the School of Arts, Technology and Emerging Communication, under the direction of Dr. Roger Malina, conducting research in music and science education.

Her doctoral dissertation “ Does musical study enhance academic skills in undergraduate non-music majors?” studied skills transfer for music study to academic skills in STEM subjects. Her current project CDASH (Curriculum Development in Arts, Science and Humanities) explores the current state of cross-disciplinary curriculum at the college and high school level. She is currently developing curriculum for a music and science minor at UT Dallas, including her course “Music, Science and Technology” which will serve as the core course for the minor.
<h3 id="preparation">Professional Preparation</h3>
<ul>
 	<li class="entry">Ph.D. - Arts and Technology, University of Texas at Dallas - 2016</li>
 	<li class="entry">M.S. - Music, University of California - 1978</li>
 	<li class="entry">M.A - Mathematics, University of California, San Diego - 1976</li>
 	<li class="entry">B.A. - Mathematics, University of California, San Diego - 1974</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="appointments">Appointments</h3>
<ul>
 	<li class="entry">Associate Dean and Senior Lecturer , <em>University of Texas at Dallas</em> [1998–2010]</li>
 	<li class="entry">Arts Coordinator and Senior Lecturer , <em>University of Texas at Dallas</em> [1995–1998]</li>
 	<li class="entry">Senior Lecturer in Music , <em>University of Texas at Dallas</em> [1994–Present]</li>
 	<li class="entry">Instructor , <em>University of California, San Diego</em> [1992–1994]</li>
 	<li class="entry">Instructor , <em>Mount Vernon College, Washington, DC</em> [1982–1983]</li>
 	<li class="entry">Instructor , <em>Menlo College, Menlo Park, California</em> [1979–1980]</li>
 	<li class="entry">Instructor , <em>University of San Diego, San Diego, California</em> [1978–1979]</li>
 	<li class="entry">Teaching assistant , <em>University of California, San Diego</em> [1974–1978]</li>
</ul>

Kathryn Evans

Anderson is in the Aesthetics Ph.D. program in Arts and Humanities. She holds an MFA in Painting from UMASS, Amherst, 1983, where she began painting outsized abstract paintings. From there, she had several exhibits and solo shows. Then in 2014, she earned an MA in Archaeology from Leiden University in The Netherlands. Concentrating on the Prehistory of Northwest Europe and the Middle East, she wrote her thesis on the petroglyphs of the Geghama Mountains in Armenia. She completed research on Neolithic and Chalcolithic pottery in 2009 and 2010. In 2015, she worked on a large Late Bronze Age rescue cemetery site. It was shown primarily in Europe since 2008 and in 2012 was chosen to participate in the 8th Biennale in Gyumri, Armenia with an installation entitled "Wings for the Women of Armenia". She has shown work in artist-in-residencies for ten years, and her work appears in publications from The Netherlands, Latvia, and Germany.

Anderson is scheduled for exhibits in Europe for the summer of 2020. She is also an editor for EXARC, the Dutch Experimental Archaeology Journal and serves as an assistant editor for ARAMAZD, the Armenian Journal of Archeology. Her upcoming dissertation will center on the public land art project Connemara, here in North Texas.

Linda Anderson

2014 FOURTH INTERNATIONAL CDASH CALL FOR INTER-DISCIPLINARY
ART-SCIENCE-HUMANITIES CURRICULA- Deadline JULY 30 2014
CDASH : Curriculum Development in the Arts, Sciences and Humanities
<a href="http://www.utdallas.edu/atec/cdash/" target="_blank">http://www.utdallas.edu/atec/cdash/</a>
Leonardo Executive Editor Roger Malina and UT Dallas faculty member
Kathryn Evans are inventorying examples of courses and curricula that
are in the art-science--humanities field such as courses on art and
biology, music and mathematics, art and chemistry, dance and
environmental sciences, etc.
The current CDASH inventory is available at
<a href="http://www.utdallas.edu/atec/cdash/" target="_blank">http://www.utdallas.edu/atec/cdash/</a>  includes over 130 courses.
Individuals who have taught an art-science-humanities course at the
university or secondary-school level, in formal or informal settings,
are invited to contact Kathryn Evans, with details of their
curriculum, at <a href="mailto:kcevans@utdallas.edu">kcevans@utdallas.edu</a>.  Please send the URL (if
available), title and number of the course(s), a short description,
the level offered (graduate or undergraduate) and the department(s) in
which the course(s) was offered.  We are also interested in the
“history” of your course – when it was offered, if you had any issues
with approval, and how you developed the course, lessons learned. Full
syllabi may be sent to Paul Thomas at  <a href="mailto:p.thomas@unsw.edu.au">p.thomas@unsw.edu.au</a> to be
included in a cloud wiki at <a href="http://artsci.unsw.wikispaces.net/" target="_blank">http://artsci.unsw.wikispaces.net/</a>.
We are interested in the broad range of all forms of the performing
arts (including music, dance, theatre and film) and the visual arts
(both traditional and new media); and connecting to all the sciences.
We are looking for submissions of in-person class room, on-line and
hybrid blended courses. We also include technology related courses
that are art-science focused.
The CDASH site also lists programs and centers that are devoted to
Art- Science-Humanities research and curriculum.
This project is overseen by a working group consisting of: Kathryn
Evans, UT Dallas, Roger F Malina, UT Dallas, Paul Thomas, University
of New South Wales, Meredith Tromble, San Francisco Art Institute and
the Leonardo LEAF Chair David Familian, University of California,
Irvine.
This project is co sponsored by Leonardo Education and Art Forum
(LEAF): <a href="http://www.leonardo.info/isast/LEAF.html" target="_blank">http://www.leonardo.info/isast/LEAF.html</a>; The ArtSciLab,
University of Texas at Dallas (UTD): <a href="https://artscilab.atec.io/" target="_blank">https://artscilab.atec.io/</a>
and the  College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales (UNSW)
<a href="http://www.cofa.unsw.edu.au/" target="_blank">http://www.cofa.unsw.edu.au/</a>.
We also bring your attention to the call for MA and PhD Thesis
abstracts in Art, Science and Technology:
<a href="http://leonardolabs.pomona.edu/" target="_blank">http://leonardolabs.pomona.edu/</a>
The Leonardo Abstracts Service (LABS) is a comprehensive database of
Ph.D., Masters and MFA thesis abstracts on the intersection of art,
science and technology. Individuals receiving advanced degrees in
disciplines that investigate philosophical, historical or critical
applications of science or technology to the arts are invited to
submit abstracts of their theses for consideration. Selected abstracts
are published in Leonardo Electronic Almanac. Authors of most highly
ranked abstracts are invited to submit an article for publication in
Leonardo. The aim of the LABS database is to give visibility to
interdisciplinary work. Annual submission deadline: 30 June. For more
information, contact Sheila Pinkel at &lt;<a href="mailto:spinkel@earthlink.net">spinkel@earthlink.net</a>&gt;.

2014 Fourth International CDASH Call

<h6>*This post is in English as well as Korean. We hope to reach a larger international population by creating new and exciting content in different languages.</h6>
<h2>The First Step</h2>
Everything starts with making the first step. This first step may seem small and unimportant like an apple seed, but it has a potential to bear a lot of beautiful fruits. When Dr. Kathryn Evans started the CDASH (Curriculum Development in the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities) website in 2012, “as a both a resource for faculty who engaged in or were interested in engaging in art-science-humanities curriculum; and as a data collection point where these types of curriculum could be surveyed for innovation and sustainability<sup>1</sup>,” it was a small, individual class project. CDASH collects information and syllabi of courses which aim to teach integrated content across arts, sciences, and humanities. CDASH relies on collaboration because all the courses are submitted by instructors who teach those courses. Dr. Evans once mentioned that even she doubted about this type of collaboration, worrying about how many courses would be actually submitted when she opened the website and asked for courses. Then she was pleasantly surprised because around 100 courses were submitted from all over the nation and even outside the United States. Apparently, there were many people who were interested in cross-disciplinary teaching across arts, science, and humanities and they were eager to share their ideas with other people. So it began. The CDASH project made the first step.
<h2>The Journey</h2>
As we all know, the road is not always a straight highway when we travel. There are ups and downs, crossings, and many bends in which we cannot see what to come next. After the initial success, the CDASH website was slowly getting cold. These ups and downs happen to many sites and blogs. Some of them are abandoned and forgotten, but some of them are rebooted and revived. What makes a difference depends on the right choice made at the right point. When we travel, we need to make a choice at the crossing. If we make a wrong turn, we will probably waste our time and effort. CDASH stood at such a crossing in 2017 and, luckily, made a right choice. Dr. Evans rebooted the CDASH project with colleagues including Dr. Roger Malina and myself, established a new website with more advanced functional supports, and launched a new CDASH site in March 2018. At present, there are over 200 courses at the CDASH site submitted from instructors in many countries including U.S., Canada, Australia, U.K. Germany, Brazil, Turkey, and Korea. CDASH also has a weekly updated resource page that contains information of research articles, news, multimedia, and social media. There are also 14 collaborators who work with the CDASH project team to nourish CDASH.
<h2><strong>At the Bend</strong></h2>
When we approach the bend in the road, we become alert and cautious because we cannot see beyond the bend. Sometimes, we encounter unexpected wonderful scenery beyond the bend and cannot help but say “Wow.” There are a few “Wow at the bend” moments during the CDASH project when an unexpected contributor submits a course. CDASH aims to be a global website and promotes geographical diversity as well as diversity in language. Every time a course from a faraway place or a course from non-English speaking area is submitted, the “Wow at the bend” moment occurs. One of the memorable occasions is a contribution from KOFAC, an educational institution in South Korea. This is the first course submission from Asia at the new CDASH website. Moreover, KOFAC has a similar interest in cross-disciplinary curriculum development in arts, science, and humanities, as CDASH does. KOFAC has its own archive of primary and secondary course materials and willing to share them with the world. It is a thrilling discovery for the CDASH team that CDASH is not alone on this road. There may be many KOFAC-like institutions, groups, and individuals in the world, waiting to make a connection. It may take forever to achieve our goal and there may be many other bumps and crossings in this road. It doesn’t matter. With the possibility of discovering hidden travel companions, however, our journey becomes more and more exciting. After all, “roads are made for journeys not destinations<sup>2</sup>.”
<ol>
 	<li><a href="https://cdash.atec.io/about/">https://cdash.atec.io/about/</a></li>
 	<li>Quote by Confucius</li>
</ol>
<h2>첫 걸음을 떼다</h2>
“천리 길도 한 걸음부터”라는 속담이 있다. 어떤 일이건 시작이 중요하다는 뜻으로 시작은 작고 보잘것없게 보일지라도 그 끝은 장대할 수 있다는 의미이다. 2012년 텍사스 주립대학교의 캐서린 에반스 박사가 시작한 일도 그런 작은 첫 걸음이었다. 에반스 박사는 CDASH (Curriculum Development in Arts, Sciences, and Humanities)<sup>1</sup>라는 융합교육자료 웹사이트를 만들었는데, 과학과 인문학, 예술을 넘나드는 융합적 수업자료를 수업개발자나 강의를 진행한 교수 또는 교사들이 직접 올릴 수 있게 한 사이트였다.  CDASH 사이트는 융합교육 자료실 및 융합교육 현황의 데이터 베이스 역할을 하도록 구성되었으며,  당연히 이 사이트의 성패는 얼마나 많은 사람들이 관심을 가지고 참여하는가에 달려있었다. 에반스 박사 본인조차 융합 교육에 관심을 가진 사람들이 있을지, 그런 사람들 중 이 사이트에 참여해 줄 사람이 있을지 자신이 없었다고 할 만큼 시작은 불투명했다. 그러나 그런 불안함은 미국 전역에서100 여개에 이르는 수업자료가 사이트에 올라옴으로써 눈 녹은 듯 사라질 수 있었다.  과학, 인문학, 예술을 아우르는 융합 교육에 생각보다 많은 사람들이 관심을 가지고 여러 가지 시도를 하고 있었고, 다행스럽게도 많은 사람들이 아이디어와 자료를 공유하기를 원하고 있었다. CDASH프로젝트는 그렇게 작은 첫 걸음을 떼었다.
<h2><strong>길 위에서 하는 선택</strong></h2>
천리 길까지는 아니더라도 여행을 하다 보면 항상 곧게 뻗은 고속도로만을 달리게 되지는 않는다. 오르막도 있고 내리막도 있으며, 교차로도 있고, 길이 굽어지는 곳도 있기 마련이다. CDASH프로젝트가 성공적인 첫 발을 내딛은 이후로 항상 곧게 뻗은 길을 거침없이 달려온 것은 아니다. 어느 사이트라도 피할 수 없는 침체기가 CDASH사이트에도 왔고, 참여자도 방문자도 서서히 줄어든 상태에서 사이트는 잊혀져 가고 있었다. 침체기를 맞은 웹사이트, 홈페이지, 블로그들은 그대로 버려지거나 잊혀지는 경우가 적지 않다. 반대로 침체기를 벗어나 새로운 도약을 하는 경우도 있다. 어떤 결말을 맺느냐 하는 것은 아마도  타이밍과 선택의 문제일 것이다. 적절한 타이밍에 적절한 선택을 하는 것, 그것이 침체기에서 벗어나느냐 아니면 그대로 잊혀지느냐를 결정하게 된다. 2017년 CDASH사이트는 그런 기로에 서 있었다. 잠시 다시 여행을 생각해보면, 길을 가다가 교차로를 만났을 때, 어느 쪽으로 가느냐에 따라 쉽게 목적지에 이르기도 하고 반대로 잘못된 길로 들어서면 시간과 노력을 그야말로 ‘아낌없이<em>’</em> 낭비하기도 한다. 실제 길찾기에서는 스마트폰 앱이나 네비게이션이 도와주지만, 인생의 길찾기에서는 아쉽게도 그런 것들을 기대할 수 없다.  에반스 박사는 기로에 선 CDASH 사이트를 되살리기 위해 동료들과 학교에 지원을 청했고, 때맞추어 필요한 기술적, 재정적 도움을 받을 수 있었다. CDASH사이트를 위한 적절한 타이밍에 적절한 선택이 이루어진 셈이다. 새롭게 결성된 CDASH 프로젝트 팀은 2018년 3월 한층 업그레이드된 새로운 CDASH 사이트를 선보였다. 현재 CDASH 사이트에는 미국, 캐나다, 호주, 영국, 독일, 터키, 브라질, 한국을 포함한 여러 나라의 교육자들이 제공한 200여개의 수업 자료가 구축되어 있고, 매 주 업데이트되는 참고 자료 페이지에는 관련 논문을 비롯한 멀티미디어, 뉴스, 소셜 미디어 자료들이 제공되고 있다.
<h2>먼 길을 함께 가며</h2>
CDASH 프로젝트 팀은 갈 길이 아주 멀다는 것을 잘 알고 있다. CDASH 사이트의 목표는 과학, 인문학, 예술을 아우르는 융합교육의 글로벌 자료실인 동시에 수업개발을 위한 플랫폼의 역할을 하는 것이다. 아직은 영어권 자료가 중심이 되고 있으나, 차차 다른 언어권으로도 영역을 넓혀갈 계획이다. 따라서 새로운 지역이나 다른 언어권에서 CDASH 사이트에 참여할 때 마다 기대감이 상승하는 것은 당연한 일이다. 마치 낯선 곳을 가다가 이 길 모퉁이를 돌면 무엇이 있을까 기대하게 되는 것과 비슷하다. 그런 의미에서 CDASH프로젝트 팀에게 잊을 수 없는 순간을 꼽으라면, 한국과학창의재단(KOFAC)에서 수업자료를 업로드한 때를 꼽을 수 있다. 한국과학창의재단은 다년간의 융합교육 경험과 자료를 보유하고 있는 기관으로, 수많은 초등 및 중등 교육자료를 개발해오고 있는 것으로 알려졌다. 지구의 다른 한 편에서 누군가가 우리와 비슷한 생각과 목표를 가지고 활동하고 있다는 것은 혼자라고 여겼던 여행지에서 생각지도 못한 길동무를 만나게 된 것과 같았고 CDASH 프로젝트 팀에게 혼자가 아니라는 든든함과 우리가 아직 만나지 못한 다른 동료들이 여기 저기 많이 숨어있을 거라는 기대감을 심어주었다. 아마도 현재 CDASH는 천리 길의 여행에서 겨우 열 걸음쯤 왔는지도 모른다. 그럼에도 불구하고 융합교육에 관심있는 잠재적 길동무들이 존재한다는 사실은 이 긴 여행을 보다 즐겁게 만들어 줄 것이 틀림없다. “멈추지 않는 이상 얼마나 천천히 가는지는 문제되지 않는다<sup>2</sup>.”
<ol>
 	<li><a href="http://cdash.atec.io">http://cdash.atec.io</a></li>
 	<li>공자의 명언 중에서</li>
</ol>


A New Journey of CDASH (Curriculum Development in the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities)

We are pleased to inform you - as collaborators and cloud curriculum members - of the progress of our CDASH website! On the Home page, our "SPOTLIGHT: What's New!" section introduces The University of Texas at Dallas' umbrella project, ToTTS: Tale of Two Thinking Systems. The umbrella consists of six promising initiatives within the ArtSciLab that will be presented in Washington, D.C. at <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-national-convening-on-the-integration-the-arts-humanities-and-stemm-in-higher-ed-tickets-53159362083?utm_source=BHEW+Mailing+List&amp;utm_campaign=7e483f02b9-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_01_02_07_58_COPY_05&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_937c723a84-7e483f02b9-" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Convention in April 2019</a>.

In the Spring of 2018, Dr. Kathryn Evans conducted a study, Moving the Needle, measuring the change in her Music, Science and Technology students' attitudes on science-music integration. This investigation and its findings will also be presented by Dr. Evans at the NASEM Convention. The demo session will be recorded and will be included in the NASEM online toolkit as a resource for practitioners interested in implementing integrative approaches in their teaching.

We welcome our newest Research Assistant in UTD's ArtSciLab, <a href="https://cdash.atec.io/team/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lauren Bernal</a>. Lauren is a senior Psychology major who brings a background of research and behavioral and brain sciences perspective to our interest in transdisciplinary curriculum.

Our Brazilian collaborator, Joao Silveira at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, recently completed his ArtSci for Education: Activity Report, February 2019. Soon, the original Portuguese report along with the English translated version will be posted on the CDASH site. We are delighted to share his findings over transdisciplinary.

Much more to come! We are excited about the response and look forward to many more courses, syllabi and resources for you. Help us spread the word by sending the link <a href="https://cdash.atec.io" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://cdash.atec.io</a> to your friends in the art-science community.

Kathryn Evans and the CDASH team
cdash@utdallas.edu

Updates from CDASH

The CDASH (Curriculum Development in the Arts, Sciences and Humanities) website was established in 2012 by Kathryn Evans and Roger Malina as both a resource for faculty who engaged in or were interested in engaging in art-science-humanities curriculum; and as a data collection point where these types of curriculum could be surveyed for innovation and sustainability. Our new site will include graduate, undergraduate, primary/secondary and informal curriculum.

Our new website allows you to easily enter your course and all the relevant details. Please log in or register before you submit your course. You may also access the other areas of the site. Those who submit syllabi will be admitted to the Cloud Curriculum, where you can download other syllabi and resources.

For more information, contact <a href="mailto:cdash@utdallas.edu">cdash@utdallas.edu</a>.

CDASH

CDASH-project-header

Curriculum Development in the Arts, Science, and Humanities

Ritwik Kaikini is an Immersive Experience Designer, Art-Science Researcher, Writer and Musician. He graduated in 2018 with an MA in Arts and Technology in 2018 from The University of Texas at Dallas specializing in Science Communication, Philosophy of Sound and Sonification. His project ‘Micro Lux Chants’ in the ArtSciLab, was awarded the Best Thesis Award at the ATEC department for the year 2018. He practices sound art and works on intersections of poetry, music, sound and language. He likes to create immersive experiences using projection mapping and spatial audio. He also teaches the guitar on weekends.
<ul>
 	<li style="list-style-type: none">
<ul>
 	<li><strong>Website:</strong> <a title="Original URL: https://www.ritwikkaikini.com/. Click or tap if you trust this link." href="https://www.ritwikkaikini.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="1">https://www.ritwikkaikini.com</a></li>
 	<li><strong>SoundCloud:</strong> <a title="Original URL: https://soundcloud.com/openkaan. Click or tap if you trust this link." href="https://soundcloud.com/openkaan" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="2">https://soundcloud.com/openkaan</a></li>
 	<li><strong>YouTube:</strong> <a title="Original URL: https://www.youtube.com/user/ritwikjk. Click or tap if you trust this link." href="https://www.youtube.com/user/ritwikjk" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="Verified" data-linkindex="3">https://www.youtube.com/user/ritwikjk</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>

Ritwik Kaikini

<h2>Listening to Bioluminescent Bacteria</h2>
<h6>by Ritwik Kaikini</h6>
Ritwik Kaikini (MA’ 18) and Brian Merlo (BE’ 19) presented one of the iterations of the project, which is now leading its research pathway into diagnosing a bacteria’s life cycle phase just by listening, instead of seeing. During the presentation, Ritwik explained that Woody Hastings—who was one of the founding fathers of the field of circadian biology—during his experiments with bacteria <em>Aliivibrio Fischeri</em> and <em>Vibrio Harveyi, </em>concluded that these bioluminescent bacteria “made light only when they had high cell density, they made no light when there was low cell density.” Pursuing research to determine why this happens, Dr. Bonnie Bassler, a molecular biologist, discovered that the time of light generation and the phenomenon of bioluminescence is closely related to genes. She explained the concept of <em>quorum sensing</em>, where each bacterium votes based on their nutrient availability and depending on the votes, these bacteria decide to manifest genes into certain forms of behaviors like bioluminescence, virulence or bio-film formation.
(Listen to Dr. Bassler’s talk on quorum sensing here: <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=saWSxLU0ME8">youtube.com/watch?v=saWSxLU0ME8</a>)

&nbsp;

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amUgaVZ3cjY[/embed]
<h6>Students in the ArtSciLab presented Micro Lux Chants, a collaborative project from the lab, at the 2018 Research Art and Writing (RAW) conference held by the Department of Arts and Humanities. The panel was chaired by Dr. Sabrina Starnaman, a clinical assistant professor teaching history, philosophy and literature at the department of Arts and Humanities.</h6>
<h3>Ideation</h3>
Brian explained that Dr. Jeremiah Gassensmith had approached the ArtSciLab, initially in the interest of understanding what phase of the life cycle, the bioluminescent bacteria (<em>Aliivibrio Fischeri</em>) is in, by listening instead of visualizing the growth. Every bacterial cycle has four phases, namely: lag, log, stationary and death phase. The goal of the second phase of the project was to ‘sonify’ the rate of change of the population growth of bacteria. Sonification is the process of translating any data change into sound outputs for the user to be able to understand and absorb information just by listening.
<h3>Auditory perception in everyday life</h3>
Humans use auditory perception in everyday life.
Brian went on to explain one such example:<em> “Imagine</em><em> yourself searching for water inside a dense forest during a hike. When we try to navigate or search for running water, we listen for the sound of water. This sound is built so strongly in our memory, that we know it is the sound of running water somewhere in the distance. As we walk closer to the river, the sound begins to change and evolve in terms of its frequency, amplitude or pitch”. </em>We are able to locate the source of water using just our ears. Similarly, we can study or identify stages in a phenomenon having data changes using our ears.
<h3>Data Capture and Patch construction</h3>
The team conducted iterations of time lapse photography of the bioluminescent bacterial growth from August to December 2017. The bacteria were observed over a life cycle period of 5-6 days, and images were captured every 5 minutes. These images were compressed to form time-lapse videos which were roughly 1-minute long.
In January 2018, the team wrote a patch (a block of visual code) to demonstrate the concept of ‘listening to a rate of change’. The visual time lapse video footage of the bacteria is fed into this patch, which converts it into a binary footage (only black and white). The blue bioluminescent spots are converted to black spots on a white canvas. This helps us determine the number of blobs of bacterial colonies and their degree of growth over a period of 5-6 days.

[caption id="attachment_2758" align="aligncenter" width="300"]<img class="wp-image-2758 size-medium" src="https://artscilab.atec.io/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2018/07/Ritwik1-300x168.png" alt="" width="300" height="168" /> Figure 1 A block of written code (patch) in MAX/msp[/caption]
<h3>Metaphor of the Maraca</h3>
Brian came up with the idea of using the maraca, a traditional instrument filled with pebbles and used as a shaker or a rattle. Each bacterium can be treated as a pebble inside the maraca and as the bacteria grew in number, so did the intensity of the rattling of these pebbles inside the maraca. Ritwik also explained that we could treat each bacterium as a coffee bean inside an empty coke can and shake the can. Once the bacteria grew in number, then number of coffee beans inside grew and the sound changed.

[caption id="attachment_2759" align="aligncenter" width="186"]<img class="wp-image-2759 size-full" src="https://artscilab.atec.io/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2018/07/Ritwik2.png" alt="" width="186" height="186" /> Figure 2 Maraca, a musical instrument (commonly known as shakers)[/caption]
<h3>Q&amp;A</h3>
<strong>Q&amp;A Video Link:</strong>  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLWJLDoj-Rk">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLWJLDoj-Rk</a>
The audience listened to this ‘sonification’ and we had a variety of reactions from different people. A biology student asked how this project can lead into cancer research. Ritwik explained that these bacteria are like indicators of health within various regions of the body. Bioluminescent bacteria can indicate whether the regions of our body have been attacked by cancer cells or not, depending on their characteristic of giving out light. If they give out light, the region is healthy, if the light dies out the region is infested with cancer cells. He gave the analogy of the colonies of bacteria being like an army or a civilization that lives managing nutrients for the entire colony. Once the civilization is thriving in a healthy condition with sufficient nutrients, they are able to make light. At this point, Roger Malina and Sabrina Starnaman brought up the point of the anthropocentric nature of explaining concepts in science and how it sometimes makes the concept more familiar to understand, though ethically debatable. Another member of the audience also pointed that the sounds reminded him of the lost musical genre of ‘blip-hop’.

The presentation ended with a holistic discussion of how the field of art-science is evolving and reaching a realm where art informs science through its experimental unorthodox ways and science informs art through its own disciplined methods. In the process of striking the equilibrium between the two fields, there’s a vast array of research areas to be explored and new innovative solutions to be found.

Chanting the Change

<p>Sound can be used in innovative ways in data analytics and interpretation. Micro Lux Chants is a multi-disciplinary art-science project where we seek to understand the life cycle of bioluminescent bacterium - Aliivibrio Fischeri through the medium of sound. The bacterial life cycle consists of four phases, namely: lag phase, log phase, stationary phase and the death phase. The team at the ArtSciLab and the Gassensmith Lab, has conducted significant studies through time-lapse photography of these bacteria over two years, to understand the growth and decay of these bacteria through visualization. We now traverse into a new form of data interpretation called sonification. The ability to detect what phase the bacteria is in during its life cycle, by listening, instead of seeing the growth and decay of these bacteria. </p>



<p>To achieve this goal, principles of Frequency Modulation and multiple blob tracking have been used in PureData and Max/msp, an open source visual programming language for multimedia. The process of translating data to sound is termed sonification.  </p>



<p>When there is a large number of batches of bioluminescent bacteria being grown, the researcher has to diagnose the stage of the life cycle of these bacteria through visual observation, which can be a time-consuming process as it requires constant supervision of these batches. This project proposes to solve this problem by using a software-based visual code to track the areas of growth in the bacterial colonies and obtain a sound output to detect which phase of the life cycle the bacteria is in. </p>



<p>The significance of these findings is twofold. Firstly, the biotechnological applications of bioluminescent bacteria extend to cell tracking in cancer research, gene control using quorum sensing and to test the effectiveness of antibiotics. Secondly, this research has applications in art-science communication, phenomenological studies of bioluminescence and data translation. </p>



<p>The project was presented as a poetic sound-art installation with a screen showing the process of making bioluminescent bacteria, two posters speaking about the concepts and phases of the project and a listening activity where people are invited to listen to bacteria singing or "Chanting''.  I(Ritwik) treated each colony of bacteria as a poet of a different language and the bacteria recite poetry as they light up. As the bacteria populate inside the petri dishes, the poetry gets chaotic to listen to, due to the simultaneous confluence of languages. As the bacteria begin to decay, the voices and the poetry fade out and the human voice lingers in the end.  </p>



<h3>Keywords</h3>



<p>Bioluminescence, Sonification, Quorum Sensing, Listening, Art-Science Communication, Visual Programming, Bio-art, Data Translation, Pure Data, Computer art, Phenomenology </p>



<h3>Graduate Student Team</h3>



<ul><li>Ritwik Kaikini (MA Arts and Technology ’18) (2016-present) </li><li>Brian Merlo (BS Bioengineering ‘19) (2018- present)       </li></ul>



<h3>Undergraduate Student Team</h3>



<ul><li>Victoria Nguyen (BS Biochemistry ‘17) </li><li>Nhan T Khuu (Health Studies Major) </li><li>Anna Lynn Edwards (Biology Major) </li><li>Ashton Brillante (BA Arts and Technology ’17)  </li></ul>



<h3>Faculty Team</h3>



<ul><li>Jeremiah J Gassensmith (Gassensmith Lab) </li><li>Roger Malina (ArtSciLab) </li><li>Frank Dufour (LabSynthE)  </li></ul>



<hr class="wp-block-separator" />



<ul><li><strong>Written, Edited and Directed by:</strong> Ritwik Kaikini</li><li><strong>Background Score by:</strong> Ritwik Kaikini</li><li><strong>Videography by</strong>:  Aahlad Madireddy, Oskar Olsson, Brian Merlo, Ritwik Kaikini  </li></ul>

Micro Lux Chants

microLux-chants-header-large

Micro Lux Chants is a multi-disciplinary art-science project where we seek to understand the life cycle of bioluminescent bacterium - Aliivibrio Fischeri through the medium of sound.

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