09/20/12 - Granoff at 6 PM
1. Jim Head, Brown Professor of Geology, co-investigator of NASA MESSENGER
mission to Mars

   - "Postcards From Another Planet"


   - "Fifty years of exploration have provided striking images of familiar
   and alien landscapes from the near and far reaches of our Solar System.
    How have these changed our perception of our own Home Planet, Earth?  How
   can these images inspire artistic talent?"

2. Jenny Brown, Collection Manager, Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass
Models of Plants (the Glass Flowers) at the Harvard Museum of Natural
History

   - The Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants, more popularly
   known as the Glass Flowers, are often referred to as "an artistic marvel in
   the field of science and a scientific marvel in the field of art."
   Originally commissioned to aid in the study of botany, the Glass Flowers
   are both a teaching tool and collection of fine art objects. Jenny Brown,
   Collection Manager of the Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of
   Plants, will share the history and creation of this truly singular
   collection.

3. Serkan Ozkaya

   - "A fagottino, a Renaissance sculpture and a Turk walk in to a bar..."
      - "In fact I made two similar projects with 3D modeling and
      scientists; first one was with Stanford University professor Marc Levoy's
      model of Michelangelo's David.

Without seeing the actual sculpture in Florence I used the computer model
to recreate a double-size, golden copy of Michelangelo's work. I imitated a
very large 3D printer, and I cut about 900 layers of styrofoam and put them
on top of each other to construct the object. My idea was to make a copy of
the most valuable man-made object, that would be superior by definition
than the original, e.g. bigger, shinier etc.

One and Three Pasta, on the other hand, is a series of computer generated
replicas of 92 types of pasta. My fascination with the object is that a
grain of pasta is the least valuable design object nonetheless not
worthless. First George wrote the equations for all these forms (e.g.
fussili, bow, spaghetti, ravioli etc.) and now all these formulas are being
translated into .STL flies for printable computer models. After that we
will print them out and display them next to the seed, the actual pieces of
pasta. The replica becomes a highly perfected form whereas an actual piece
of pasta is always imperfect."


10/18/12 - RISD Museum Metcalf Auditorium at 6:30 PM
1. Casey Dunn, Brown Professor of Biology

   - "CreatureCast is a collaborative blog produced by members of the Dunn
   Lab  at Brown
University,
   along with assorted friends. This project, which is focused on zoology in
   the broad sense, serves as a forum to present original content that we have
   produced and observations by others that we find interesting and beautiful."

2. Neal Overstrom, Director of RISD Nature Lab

   - "Founded in 1937 by long-time faculty member Edna Lawrence [RISD `20],
   Rhode Island School of Design's Nature Lab inspires countless art and
   design projects throughout the college and beyond. Its hands-on natural
   history collection and studio environment offers the opportunity to examine
   and explore the patterns, structures and interactions of design in nature."

3. Andrea Grover, curator of Intimate Science exhibit in NYC

   - "The most recent manifestation of artists working at the intersection
   of art, science and technology demonstrates a distinctly autodidactic,
   heuristic approach to understanding the physical and natural world. Intimate
   Science features artists who are engaged in non-disciplinary inquiry;
   they aren't allied to the customs of any single field, and therefore have
   license to reach beyond conventions. This kind of practice hinges on
   up-close observation, experiential learning, and inventing new ways for the
   public to participate in the process. And through their engagement with
   "intimate science," a more knowledgeable public might well be able to
   influence what research is supported and adopted by the larger culture, and
   the walls of science can become more transparent."



11/15/12 - Granoff at 6 PM
1. Roger Hanlon, Senior Scientist, Marine Biological Laboratory; Professor,
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Brown University

   - "We investigate the behavior of cephalopods and other marine organisms
   with an integrative biology approach focused at the organismal level.
   Molecular, cellular and ecological approaches are used to complement this
   organismal approach, and there is emphasis on sensory biology and
   behavioral ecology. Currently we are focused mostly on the highly
   interdisciplinary subject of camouflage and the visual perception processes
   that are involved."

2. Ben Lillie, Director of Story Collider, writer for TED.com

   - "From finding awe in Hubble images to visiting the doctor, science is
   everywhere in our lives. Whether we wear a white lab coat or haven't seen a
   test tube since eighth grade, science affects and changes us. We all have a
   story about science, and at The Story Collider, we want to hear those
   stories."

3. Rebecca Kamen

   - "Rebecca Kamen's work explores the nexus of art and science.  Her
   recent large- scale sculpture installation, Divining Nature:  An
   Elemental Garden has been informed by wide ranging research into
   chemistry, cosmology, spirituality and philosophy. She has also
   investigated rare books and manuscripts at the libraries of the American
   Philosophical Society and the Chemical Heritage Foundation, utilizing these
   scientific collections as a muse in the creation of her work.