Session N15: Art meets Science (CIP & FOEP)

The Art and Science of Superheroes

In this talk I’ll review some of the ways that comic books and graphic novels have combined words and pictures to not just entertain but also to educate. From classical mechanics to electricity and magnetism, to quantum mechanics and materials science – accurate physics concepts and principles have often found their way into the exploits of costumed heroes. Starting with their first appearance in comic books (back in Action Comics no. 1 in June 1938) and continuing on to the latest movie at the local multiplex, science has often been integral to superheroes’ adventures.

    

Comedy as a Tool for Democratization of Knowledge

Do we take physics too seriously?

The laws of physics can explain how the world works, and how to make it better, but that isn’t much use if elitism and technobabble keep people from engaging with the science. Comedy provides an ideal toolkit to make physics more accessible, physicists more relatable, and to lower barriers between cutting edge scientific research and the public who fund it.

This talk explores comedic approaches to communicating physics in the interdisciplinary environment of Bright Club Ireland, a research comedy project which has run over a hundred live events in Ireland and online since 2015. We show that an informal live comedy event can engage audiences with even the most arcane academic research, by making remote and technical subjects relatable and bringing humanity into the equation. Speakers are trained using techniques from theatre and improvisation to tell the story of their work, and participation in Bright Club affects both their disciplinary identity and their motivation to participate in other public engagement events. Admitting that the objective, external researcher is a myth and allowing in real research voices drive multidirectional engagement between physicists, other researchers, and many publics.

The performing arts centre different ways of knowing than the sciences traditionally rely on, helping new and diverse audiences from pubs, fringe festivals, and music festivals to connect to physics. This is especially critical as we address societal challenges that require not only scientific innovation, but broader understanding and uptake of scientific advances. Comedy and other artistic approaches are powerful antidotes for elitism and siloed knowledge, for physicists and the public alike.

    

Finding Center: A Balancing Act Between Circus and Science

Julia Ruth started her career as a physicist in a variety of laboratories, but traded the lab for the stage and now performs nationally and internationally as a circus artist. Ruth's introduction to research occurred at age 17 working in the physics department at the University of Maryland. She spent the next 5 years in labs at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), concurrently participating in research and obtaining her undergraduate and graduate degrees in physics and geophysics, respectively. Simultaneously, Ruth found a new hobby by joining her college's gymnastic and acrobatic performance club. Through this, she fell in love with stage performance; her drive to entertain led her to the world of circus after her undergraduate graduation. Torn between her deep interest in physics and her passion for acrobatics, Ruth ultimately chose to utilize her youth and athletic ability and prioritize performance. She continues to contribute to the field of physics through education. The execution may be vastly different, but Ruth has been drawn to both physics and acrobatics due to the positive impact each has on the world. Physics and circus share a surprising amount of similarities and Ruth's life has found a marriage between the two, with each enriching the other. Ruth's untraditional career has brought her joy, balance, and life-changing opportunities.   

Communicating Science through Immersive Mixed Reality (IMR) experiences

How can we use Immersive Mixed Reality (IMR) tools and methodologies to communicate physics in a radically new way to engage youth and communities from culturally diverse audiences?

In this presentation, Agnes Chavez, artist/educator, will demonstrate STEMarts Lab’s

transdisciplinary practice-led questioning of STEAM education to communicate science within the context of Immersive Mixed Reality (IMR) experiences. As a pedagogical approach, STEAM places value on the arts for their creative methodologies and offers an approach to teaching and learning that encourages and facilitates unorthodox methods and strategies (Mckeown, 2018).

We will take you behind the scenes of the Space Messengers project, an IMR installation and international youth exchange program whose mission is to inspire youth and communities to develop artistic, scientific and humanistic literacy and expand their identities as planetary citizens. STEMarts Lab explores state-of-the-art Immersive MR tools and experiences, with Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and science experts to investigate the intersection of diverse perspectives that transcend physical time and materiality, yet share methods e.g observation, learning by doing, and experimentation to question conventions and challenge outmoded paradigms. (Chavez,Mckeown, 2022)

IMR learning is an emerging concept: shared virtual / augmented realities that are interactive, immersive and collaborative with untold possibilities, multi-dimensional worlds, like our physical universe, a collection of worlds connected in space (Caufield,2021). These realities enable us to exist beyond spatial and linguistic barriers, challenging our concept of space and time, many of our existing narratives including power dynamics, and our understanding of community and education. As an immersive learning technology using Virtual and Augmented realities, the role of schools, educators and education is being reimagined, through infinite possibilities, modes of access and global connections. (Chavez,Mckeown, 2022)