Fusion-Project Runway
Here I will introduce the methods I have developed to successfully fuse and integrate art and design into the physics, astronomy, and independent study courses I teach. As a researcher in theoretical physics I investigate the matter present a millionth of a second after the Big Bang, matter created at Brookhaven National Laboratory in NY and at the LHC. As an advocate for the sciences I develop novel ways to bring science to a broader audience. Through my classes and fusion projects I show that artists and designers can use science, particularly fundamental sciences, like physics and astronomy, for more than a source of new materials and techniques. The connection to science can be much deeper and can be an unceasing source of inspiration. By emphasizing an understanding of the process of science, the students are encouraged to internalize the science, see beyond more literal connections between their work and science, and to develop deeper connections to the material. They then use their their own medium, whether film, photography, poetry, painting, sculpture, fashion, animation, graphic design, industrial design, or interior design, to express concepts they’ve learned during the course. These Fusion Projects are presented in front of a panel of judges comprised of professionals from the sciences and art/design. I will present successful projects, and will attempt to illustrate through these examples both what artists and designers can gain from this collaboration as well as what the science community gains by adopting these new languages of expression.
Associate Professor of Physics
Pratt Institute
Ágnes Mócsy, PhD, is a theoretical physicist who studies the theory of strong nuclear interactions, the force holding the atomic nucleus together, and making the existence of protons and neutrons possible. Specifically, she researches the matter that permeated the entire universe a microsecond after the Big Bang. After earning her PhD from the University of Minnesota, she was a postdoc at the Niels Bohr Institute, in Copenhagen, an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow at the Goethe University, in Frankfurt, and a research scientist at the RIKEN Theory Group at Brookhaven National Laboratory, where she holds a visiting scientist appointment. As faculty at Pratt Institute, Mócsy teaches physics and astronomy and develops a variety of science-art fusion projects. She communicates science to varied public audiences, lobbies congress, and is active in changing the landscape of science.
