Opportunities for Science in Art School: Lectures and Residencies as Tools to Introduce Science Discourse in the Art + Design Context
School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) President Walter Massey, a scientist at the head of an art school, has noted that, “Only by combining the interpretive powers of artists and scientists can we continue to achieve the kinds of breakthroughs necessary to sustain an innovative society and economy.” To interject a broad discourse about science into an art and design school context, two unique, interrelated applications of introducing STEAM education have been undertaken: the Conversations on Art and Science lecture series, and a scientist-in-residence program. The lecture series provides a time and place for considering myriad perspectives on art, science, design, and technology. Highlight events have been featured Nicholas Negroponte, Andrea Ghetz, and George Lucas. An outgrowth of the lecture series is the SAIC scientist-in-residence program. SAIC Scientist-In-Residence program aims to bring an accomplished researcher to the School to not only teach a class but also hold open office hours, make a presentation as part of the Art and Science lecture series, and collaborate with other faculty in critiques and other related pedagogic experiments. Resident scientists have been machine learning expert David Gondek and mathematician Eugenia Cheng. SAIC faculty—Dean of Undergraduate Studies Tiffany Holmes and scientist Kathryn Schaffer—and current scientist-in-residence Eugenia Cheng will present on these programs, including an overview of each initiative, assessment of progress towards the goal of extending science discourse at the art and design school, and a case study by Cheng.
EUGENIA CHENG
Scientist-in-Residence
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Eugenia Cheng is a mathematician and pianist who is currently on sabbatical from her tenured position at the University of Sheffield, UK. Cheng is a strong believer in bringing math to a wider audience and breaking down stereotypes surrounding mathematics. She was an early pioneer of mathematics on YouTube, and her short math videos have now been viewed more than eight hundred thousand times. Her media work includes television and radio interviews with the BBC, Sky News, ABC (Australia), and CBC (Canada). Her first popular math book How to Bake Pi: An Edible Exploration of the Mathematics of Mathematics was published by Basic Books in 2015.
Dean of Undergraduate Studies
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Tiffany Holmes is the dean of Undergraduate Studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). At SAIC, Holmes leads the Conversation on Art and Science lecture series, the Scientist-in-Residence program, and an evolving data visualization course on campus. Her career as a media artist and educator spans twenty years; her research interests are focused on the potential of art and technology to promote environmental stewardship.
KATHRYN SCHAFFER
Assistant Professor
School of the Art Instituteof Chicago
Kathryn Schaffer is a physicist and professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). Her scientific research focuses on data analysis for experiments in cosmology and nuclear physics. She’s interested in the process by which physicists transform raw information from detector systems into knowledge about the world, especially the argumentation used to account for sources of uncertainty in the measurement process. She views her classes at SAIC as a laboratory for exploring science communication, science in society, and critical perspectives on the nature of science and the meaning of scientific knowledge. My professional work is expanding to include projects that draw from my teaching and from interdisciplinary dialogue with my SAIC colleagues and students.
