Innovation Incubator in San Diego - Come one Come all

Learn about opportunities to participate in the

Art of Science Learning Incubator for Innovation

hosted by the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership

Public information sessions are offered:

• Thursday, May 30, 3:30-4:30 PM - University of California San Diego, Natural Sciences Building Auditorium
• Saturday, June 1, 10:00-11:00 AM - Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, Balboa Park
• Saturday, June 1, 1:00-2:00 PM - Malcolm X Library at 5148 Market St, San Diego, CA 92114

 At these meetings, we will:

• Discuss the integration of the arts into STEM as a strategy for regional economic vitality and the future of America's economic competitiveness
• Describe how the Art of Science Learning uses the arts as a catalyst for creativity and innovation
• Articulate various opportunities for participation
• Invite your involvement, to contribute to and benefit from this unprecedented effort

Our own PR for DNA of C, Kim Richards has summerized some of the information for you: 

The Art of Science Learning innovation incubator in San Diego is now recruiting! 

Harvey Seifter, project director and principal investigator, and San Diego incubator director, Nan Renner, hosted an information session on Friday morning April 26 at the Natural History Museum. The session started with an in depth overview of the history of the project leading up to where it stands today. More detail on the background available here: http://www.artofsciencelearning.org/index.php.

The team is calling for 100 community members of all ages and expertise, including 20 high school and college students, to join them in learning the project's new arts-based curriculum and solve issues around the region's innovation challenge: water. Recruiting is taking place in San Diego and the northern Baja region in Mexico.

The incubator will kick off in October, and after the first three months 10 teams will self-select, five addressing the innovation challenge and the other five creating new programs integrating arts into STEM learning. The curriculum will be taught by a group of experts most likely during Saturday sessions for a total of 150 hours over a year's time. Participants will become certified Art of Science Learning Fellows and will be armed with brand new tools to innovate.

To join the incubator, visit: http://bpcp.org/sites/default/files/aosl_incubator_application.pdf. There are also opportunities for individuals and organizations to participate by becoming team mentors or partnering on public outreach. You can host an incubator meeting, a public event or a temporary showcase, for example.

To get involved, please provide a resume and a one--]page statement to address these two questions:
1. What interests and skills will you bring to the incubatorfs innovation community?
2. How will you use your innovation skills in our local, regional, and/or international communities? Please email your response to Nan Renner, San Diego Incubator for Innovation, by June15, 2013 at sdincubator@bpcp.org, subject line: Incubator application, title:
(Your last name) application 2013.
 
RSVP online for the information meetings at bpcp.org/incubator or learn more about the project at www.artofsciencelearning.org.

Please direct any questions to Nan Renner at nan.renner@bpcp.org.

Thank you!

Nan & Amanda--
Nan Renner & Amanda Sincavage

San Diego Incubator for Innovation, Art of Science Learning
a program of the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership

funded by the National Science Foundation

1549 El Prado, Suite 1
San Diego, CA 92101
619.232.7502, ext. 1210

Up and Coming Art and Science Film Festival

up&coming film festival

FILM / VARIOUS

Wednesday, May 15, 2013 / 7:00 PM
Calit2 Auditorium

ArtPower! Film is expanding its annual Up&Coming Student Film Festival to include two nights of filmmaking, exploration, conversation, networking, and a brand new student networking event called Talent Campus.

The first night of the Up&Coming Festival will feature cinema created in the spirit of collaboration through art, science, and technology. Special presentations include Mikumentary, a series of short, independent, non-commerical films about the Hatsune Miku phenomenon by UCSD Professor and filmmaker Tara Knight and Drone Technology and Filmmaking, a presentation by Research Scientist/National Geographic Emerging Explorer Albert Lin.
MORE INFO +

Oh, The Humanities! Why STEM Shouldn’t Take Precedence Over the Arts

By Grace Richards

Reprinted with kind permission of  Online Degree Programs 

As much trouble as the education industry is in, every state continues to witness the dissolving of the very funds intended to help it. Major cuts in education have been directed toward the arts and humanities where millions of students are being deprived of these subjects and outlets.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), nearly 1.5 million elementary students are without music, nearly 4 million are without the visual arts, and almost 100% of them, more than 23 million, are educated without dance and theatre.

Government Push for STEM

While the Department of Education (DoE) attempts to find a one-size-fits-all solution for more than 14,000 public school districts through its Common Core Standards, the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) have been placed as the focal point for education, well ahead of arts and humanities.
Dave Csintyan, CEO of the educational non-profit organization See the Change USA, feels taking away from the arts and humanities programs is the wrong answer but said the push for STEM may actually have a positive effect on arts and humanities students who are exposed to STEM learning.
"Rigorous STEM exposure is equally applicable to professional success no matter the field of choice," he said.
Education reform has been a major part of Barack Obama’s presidency, who has proposed a bill called the STAPLE Act, which would provide immigrant PhD students in STEM fields a green card upon graduation. The argument is that these students, who commonly return to their home country to develop companies and businesses, should be given the option to remain in America and help boost the economy.
This potential law is a major player in the push for STEM. It voices the government’s insistence that the education system is not producing enough Master’s and PhD STEM graduates.
But the major push for STEM education in America may, in fact, not be that necessary after all. A Georgetown University, Rutgers University, and Urban Institute-collaborated study found that "U.S. colleges and universities are graduating as many scientists and engineers as ever before…[and the] findings indicate that STEM retention along the pipeline shows strong and even increasing rates of retention from the 1970s to the late 1990s. Over the past decade, U.S. colleges and universities graduated roughly three times more scientists and engineers than were employed in the growing science and engineering workforce."
It seems the great migration toward STEM by the government will indeed have adverse effects and not solely in regards to the cuts in education funds. There is the economic impact to consider, as well.
The Americans for the Arts Arts and Economic Prosperity IV study showed that the nonprofit arts and culture industry accounts for more than four million full-time jobs and more than $135 billion in economic activity. It also generates over $22 billion in revenue for local, state, and federal governments each year.
But access to the arts for students of all ages continues to shrink as more government officials continue to solely invest in STEM, forcing the arts and humanities to fend for themselves.
According to Florida’s governor, Rick Scott, picking a degree shouldn’t be up to the student. It should be up to what is best for the student, or at least what he thinks is best for the student.

"I want to spend our money getting people science, technology, engineering and math degrees," he said in a radio interview on WNDB-AM in Daytona Beach. "That’s what our kids need to focus all of their time and attention on: those type of degrees that when they get out of school, they can get a job."

Stronger Together Than Apart

Eric Darr, president of Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, said he doesn’t think arts and humanities students are being turned off from pursuing those particular degrees, although some of the recent press may help sway some of their decisions – in particular articles about salary comparisons.
"The social sciences — communications, pre-law, journalism — continue to be very popular," he said.
As much as the DoE encourages the increase in STEM, it is aware that education needs the influence of the arts and humanities.
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences formed its Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) at the request of Congress. The group, comprised of scientists, engineers, leading business executives, philanthropists, jurists, artists, and journalists, were asked to find the answers to a question posed by Congress: What actions should government officials take to maintain national excellence in humanities and social science education in order to better improve the economy and civil society?
Darr believes it is a mistake to try to separate STEM and the social sciences. He said they are both stronger together.
Recent moves by government officials looking to improve education, however, have done just that via budget cuts.
One of the more obvious statements in the STEM push is the Obama Administration’s Race to the Top initiative, which places all 50 states in an academic competition to be the best and be eligible for additional education funding, has STEM emphasis as one of its seven point factors. Arts and humanities, however, is not on the list.
Many have gravitated to the idea that STEM is the best source for innovation and job creation. But according to the Americans for the Arts organization, their studies show that children involved in the arts are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement and four times more likely to participate in a math and science fair.
These same students are also three times more likely to be elected to class office in their school, giving them early leadership skills and making them more apt to become leaders in the business world.
Karl Eikenberry, a fellow at Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation, former ambassador to Afghanistan and a retired general was reported saying during a CHSS discussion at Stanford that knowledge of history, foreign languages and cultures can help America more successfully navigate the increasing number of multinational issues that need multinational solutions.
The need for advancements in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics will never cease, as will the need for the study of social sciences like human behavior, languages, linguistics, and philosophy. The answer is the continual interworking of both.

"The new economy requires that we continue to improve and encourage STEM education because mastering existing and new technologies is vital," said Edward Abeyta, director of K-16 Programs at the University of California-San Diego Extension. "It also requires that arts be included in the curricula to capture the full potential of the whole-brain."

He said the education industry needs to take a STEAM approach.

"It is using the combination of all these capabilities that drives creativity and innovation," he said of STEAM. "The future economic cost of not having a whole brain education system that fosters creativity and innovation is immense. It requires retraining instructors to teach how to deal with ambiguities and nuances – how to think creatively and how to construct or deal with abstract issues instead of so much of the emphasis being on teaching facts. Teachers will need to teach our students to ‘think’ – not memorize."

One of the major components of STEM is rote memorization which can hinder a student’s ability to think freely on subjects. When social sciences and arts are provided, students are able to understand problems rather than simply accepting solutions.
Even if the STEAM approach is best, funding cuts to arts and humanities programs remain an inescapable reality. In the face of such cuts, arts and humanities students will have less career counseling and professional guidance in school than their STEM peers. As such, these students need to become their own career coaches and figure out for themselves how to convince employers of the relevance and value of their degrees.

How Humanities Students Can Help Themselves

Humanities students need to educate themselves on how to communicate their abilities and ideas. Also, having a firm business foundation along with understanding the importance of their own craft is essential to impressing an employer and landing a job.
Darr said students must place themselves in the best position to secure a job coming out of college and gave some tips on how to do it:

• Keep a portfolio of your work. Through your education, internships, and early career, continue to catalog documents, audio and video recorded projects, and any other materials showing your work. Not having proof that you are talented in your field can be costly.
• For those in the arts field, creating a portfolio of your work – whether art, music, film – gives employers an insight into your established work and where you are headed in your field. The portfolio needs to show the quality and complexity of your work and how it has progressed over time. A portfolio should mimic a timeline providing visual evidence of professional growth.
• Get an internship – at all costs. Earning a degree is a must, but obtaining internship work related to your industry is vital. When applying for a job, nearly every professional opening requires some experience. It is very important to have on a resume to show that you have some idea of what it is to work in your area. Even a short history of understanding how to conduct social science research or working in an arts industry is steps ahead of someone who only has a degree. A philosophy major may consider interning with a law firm or a consulting firm to become comfortable in a business environment.
• Take classes that help you become a good communicator. At the end of your college career, take a course on communication, preferably one that will count toward your degree. Most degree programs give students the ability to take upper level courses of their choosing. For example, a student studying philanthropy may consider taking a business course to help them understand the business side of non-profit work.
• To fully participate in today’s society, you need to have some knowledge of technology – even if you’re a fine arts student. Most schools offer courses in social media. Knowing how to use and manage social networking sites will go a long way in helping you land a career job.

There is no denying the importance of STEM education and the economic and technological impacts it has on the world. But STEM standing alone, or by itself atop the educational mountain, will soon prove counterproductive.
"The idea that we must choose between science and humanities," Abeyta said, "is false."

Sciene meets art for "Soil Blind" installation

By Alex Zaragoza

Dirt plays a vital role in Barrio Logan sculpture

“Soil Blind” by Jeremy Gercke, Jonathan Austin and David Lipson
Walk into any gallery or museum with a clump of dirt in your hands, and you’ll likely be escorted out of the premises within minutes. Art and dirt don’t mix. That is, unless the dirt is a central part of the art on view.
Such is the case with “Soil Blind,” a sculptural installation at Woodbury School of Architecture in Barrio Logan. Dirt is a fundamental part of the piece, created by artist Jeremy Gercke, landscape architect Jonathan Austin and scientist David Lipson.
The sculpture features more than 100 cone-shaped clay modules hanging from cables suspended from a steel frame. Each unique module is filled with various types of soil and nutrient-rich composts found in gutters throughout Barrio Logan.
The piece is more than visual art, however; it’s also a scientific experiment. With “Soil Blind,” Gercke, Austin and Lipson created an environment ripe for germination and natural activity.
“It’s been an education for me,” Gercke says. “I always wanted to make artwork that isn’t necessarily something to be looked at. It is part of an environment, a site-specific piece that relates to the area.”

The installation was made possible by a grant from DNA of Creativity, through the  organization the San Diego Visual Arts Network that provides funding for projects that merge art and science. The grant went to a project called Urban Succession, which aimed to preserve and provide wildlife habitat in urban areas.
Gercke, Austin and Lipson are friendly with members of Urban Secession, and after a series of talks, the organization decided to get behind “Soil Blind” as a bit of a different part of the project.
“The idea of making a home for raccoons or possums didn’t resonate with us,” Gercke says. “These animals are going to go wherever they want. So we looked at the larger picture and thought about what activates the animals.”
“My compost in my backyard is the most active place in my house,” he adds. “Bugs, birds—they all hang out. We felt they needed environments the most.”
The crew set out to collect soil specimens for their installation. Lipson, a professor of soil biology at San Diego State University, ran tests on the dirt collected. He was surprised when one soil sample came back positive for E. coli.
“It’s part of our hope that this project is fruitful,” Austin says. “It can start a dialogue about these issues, like soil, Barrio Logan and the city in general—how the city is producing soil through unnatural processes.”
Since its installation in mid-February, the piece has been aflutter with activity: Plants are sprouting, spiders are spinning webs and birds often snack on bugs hanging from the sculpture. This is exactly what the team had hoped for.
“Soil Blind” can be viewed from the corner of Sampson and Main streets.

Write to alexz@sdcitybeat.com. You can also bug her on Twitter.

Art meets Engineering by Lonnie Burstein Hewitt

Art meets engineering in new exhibitions at UCSD

By Lonnie Burstein Hewitt

An engineering building may seem an odd venue for art exhibitions, until you realize that UC San Diego’s Structural and Materials Engineering Building (SME) is affectionately called “Bauhaus West.”

The Bauhaus was a German school that flourished in the 1920s, combining art and technology and setting the course for modernist architecture and design. That collaborative spirit is now in evidence at SME, where art studios, galleries and performance spaces co- exist with engineering research labs, and a new faculty exhibit, “Corpus,” which shows off some of the intriguing possibilities that can occur when art and science intersect.

Most eye-catching is VisArts professor emeritus Eleanor Antin’s large-scale 2008 video installation “Classical Frieze,” a behind-the-scenes look at Antin’s restaging of ancient Rome in modern- day La Jolla that combines a Fellini-esque use of color and costume with chuckle- worthy anachronisms.

But other pieces are equally attention-grabbing, if you stop to examine them — especially the work of Maurizio Seracini, adjunct professor of structural engineering at UCSD and director of the Center of Interdisciplinary Science for Art, Architecture and Archeology in Florence. Seracini uses a copy of a painting by Leonardo da Vinci to demonstrate an amazing application he has in development, which allows viewers to discover what lies underneath an antique work of art.

By zooming in on a section of the painting on an iPad, and rubbing the pad gently with your finger, there’s a magical reveal of beautifully-drawn faces that Leonardo decided to cover over, faces that have been unseen for centuries.

“It is like magic,” Seracini said at the exhibit’s Feb. 21 opening. “There is magic in any work of art, and we want to take back that magic, so that viewers will be not just passive, but curious and excited by what they see.”

For developing the app itself, Seracini credits grad student David Vanoni, on his way to a Ph.D. in Engineering Studies for Cultural Heritage.

“You won’t find a university department like this anywhere else in the world,” Seracini said. “We’re creating human beings, not specialists; we’re training engineers to work with works of art. Now people will be able to interact with artworks, and make their own discoveries.”

By the end of the year, they hope to present the app to the city of Florence. And you can say you saw it first at SME.

Other notable pieces: A small but attractive depiction of the fighting power of neutrophils (aka white blood cells, dyed red for better visibility) by Klaus Ley, head of the Division of Inflammation of La Jolla Institute of Allergy & Immunology. And the dance photos and videos of Babette Mangolte.

“Corpus” is an insightful and delightful body of work in SME’s first floor gallery, and there’s more to see on the fourth floor — “The Practice Series,” a student group show in Room 406.For even more art and a chance to interact with the next generation of artists, don’t miss Open Studio Day at the Visual Arts Facility, a stone’s throw from SME, on March 9, and be sure to visit the gallery there for “Metaphysics,” a nine-channel video installation by Adrienne Garbini.

If you go

■ What: ‘Corpus,’ on view through May 17

■ Where: Structural and Materials Engineering Building, UC San Diego, Voight Drive and Matthews Lane

■ Gallery Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday-Friday; closed March 16-April 1

■ Open Studio Day: 3-8 p.m. Saturday, March 9, Visual Arts Facility, UC San Diego, Russell Lane, next to Gilman parking structure, visit studios of 37 grad student artists, 5-6 p.m. social hour/refreshments, 6-8 p.m. performances/screenings. Free weekend parking.

■ Contact: VisArts Chair Jordan Crandall, (858) 534-0418

First published in the La Jolla Light http://www.lajollalight.com/2013/03/08/art-meets-engineering-in-new-exhibitions-at-ucsd/

Lonnie Hewitt

Author/Arts & Lifestyle Writer

858-523-0223

hew2@sbcglobal.net

www.lonniebursteinhewitt.com

His 3 cents on Cancer

My 3 Cents 0n Cancer: Jack Andraka at TEDxSanJoseCAWomen

Terrific story sent to me by Naimeh Tahna about the creative solutions possible in our future. 

Updates from STe(+a)m

Events:

• STEM to STEAM Congressional Briefing - February 14
• SXSWedu STEM to STEAM panel - March 6
• Full STE+aM Ahead networking - April 7 - part of a larger symposium - details to follow
• Creative Edge Lecture – April 10 - with guest Tom Kelley, co-founder of IDEO

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News:

• NSF network building momentum for adding art to technical studies - ArchONE Texas A&M - February 6
• STEM alone won't breed won't breed innovation - USA Today column - February 5
• Solving water issues with the arts - U-T San Diego - January 29
• Top 10 Skills Children Learn from the Arts
 - Washington Post - January 22
• 'STEAM' Education Gains Momentum in Schools - eSchool News - January 21
• New Exhibit Looks at Science Through an Artistic Lens - NJToday - January 18
• Sir Ken Robinson: Fostering Creativity in Education is Not an Option - KQED Mind/Shift - January 11

Do you have STE+aM news and events you want to share with the STEAMConnect community? Please send them to events@steamconnect.org and we'll post them on our Facebook page, LinkedIn group and/or the next STEAMBrief.

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Opportunities:

• NEA ArtWorks grant open to art/science programs - deadline March 7
• PBS NewsHour - Call for nominations - Do you know a creative science or math teacher?
• Kids 4 Broadway STEM/Arts Camp - week-long theatre camp around a new production of "The Inventive Inn"

STEAMConnect is an organization that provides a forum for community collaboration and a collection of resources to bring a diverse group of stakeholders together including non-profits, education, business, policymakers and our communities. STEAMConnect produces Full STE+aM Ahead, a quarterly networking event, and STEAMBrief, the gateway to all things STEAM. Join us on Facebook and LinkedIn! www.steamconnect.org