Philip Glass has a new piece of work on the life of Joannes Kepler running now at the MET. I have heard from a close friend that it was "less visually interesting" (read: WHACK) than the last Glass opera we saw, Satyagraha (on Ghandi) so I will not be pining over tickets. I say last one like I am a fucking opera connoisseur, but it was my first and only. And I kinda know why, OPERA IS WAY BORING. Although, I really like reading and learning about those old timey astronomers, I have considered getting a male B and naming him Copernicus (copper for short). Maybe a trip to NYC is in order? Nah - i think i am too pragmatic for the whole opera scene.

WEEKENDS

"What we usually consider are impossible are simply engineering problems... there's no law of physics preventing them."
Michio Kaku

Transitory Objects, the latest exhibit at Vienna’s influential Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary gallery, features some of the most innovative and unconventional forms coming out of the architectural world today. Matthew Ritchie’s two pieces in the exhibit are based on cosmologists Paul Steinhardt and Neil Turok’s cyclic universe theory. Speaking about his modular architecture, Ritchie states, “I want to make a physicalized model of everything in the universe. It will be a superposed structure in the sense that it has multiple options contained within it at any given time and that it can be rebuilt.” The resulting black-aluminum modules are assembled using the logic of language and form a web-like tangle that can be reassembled in an infinite number of ways.


Also included in the exhibit are two elegant models from Alisa Andrasek of BIOTHING, that are part of a design project called “Mesonic Emission,” a reference to mesons, subatomic particles composed of quarks. These designs are made from an algorithm that is based on behaviors of electro-magnetic fields and is sophisticated enough to respond to the shape of the environment and to grow around obstructing objects. Founded in 2001, Biothing’s research focuses on the generative potential of physical and artificial computational systems for design. Biothing attempts to engage with complexity through an algorithmic articulation of the relation between the corporeal and incorporeal. In their work, design is understood as genetic inscription.

The National Institute of Health Blueprint for Neuroscience Research launched the 30 million dollar Human Connectome Project, which is aimed at devising a comprehensive map of the neural networks and pathways in the brain by 2015. I was not aware that the NIH operated on a different calendar than the rest of us that has considerably longer years and doesn't exist, but that's really great for them. The human brain is a composite organ divided into several hundred small areas with highly specialized functions. Viewed under a microscope, most of these centimeter-wide areas have highly distinguishable cell patterns. Most importantly for the HCP, each of these areas is connected by millions of thread like neuronal projections (axons) that run together in parallel, winding to form long, bundled structures. The rationale behind the HCP's focus on these fiber bundles is that the different brain areas are believed to acquire their functional characteristics based on their connections to one another. Like so much of biology (hey, remember when they mapped the human genome?), structure directly defines function. With the advent of functional imaging techniques, 3-D modeling can allow a clearer picture of these connection pathways, but "mapping" a complete picture of the human brain is not that simple. Good luck to these guys (it sounds like a lot of fun), but get real. While this may be the final frontier of neuroscientific research, the concept appears to oversimplify the discipline itself.

“A public awareness of science and design is a necessary tool to empower the positive collective feedback that we trust will help set the right substrate for creativity and innovation.”
Paola Antonelli

OMG LHC

They fixed it! 

I hate when people who have NO IDEA about anything try to say that this was a waste of money and will ultimately lead to the demise of humankind. Only experimental data using higher energies reached by the Large Hadron Collider can push our understanding of the universe forward, challenging those who seek confirmation of established knowledge, and those who dare to dream beyond the paradigm. 

Current developments in autonomous, biological, and evolutionary robotics will have a profound impact on the future of interactive and dynamic architectural space. Spaces and structures that adapt to the environment and human interaction require modules with three fundamental features: the ability to sense external input, integrate and process those inputs, and create movements and reactions. Modular geometries use small scale robotic prototypes to test the connections of these systems in the field. Miles Kemp's project,  Meta-morphic Architecture, offers a new type of interactive environment made from millions of these modules, where entirely new types of real time states can be created within spatial environments. Similar to the groundbreaking evolutionary logic of the starfish robot, these modular systems can literally adapt to changing environments in real time. 

In Interactive Architecture, written by Kemp and Michael Fox, a brave new world is introduced that facilitates participation with the individual and their environment. Spaces with the ability to reconfigure themselves will literally change our world by addressing our ever-evolving individual, social and environmental needs. 

holy fuck

"Inspired by the biology of the bee and the insects hive behaviour, we aim to push advances in miniature robotics and the design of compact high-energy power sources; spur innovations in ultra-low-power computing and electronic "smart" sensors; and refine coordination algorithms to manage multiple, independent machines". Ten million in funding for a colony of robobees?  AMAZING. 

 

Nanotechnology is cool because it encompasses breathtaking feats of innovative technology, and Honey I Shrunk the Kids. In their most recent collaboration, Felice Frankel and George Whitesides explore this tiny world in No Small Matter, meandering from molecules to quantum dots to microscopic symbiotic relationships between species.  The book combines colourful imagery from multiple disciplines with thoughtful essays to capture the bizarre world below the level of the visible, and to introduce readers to the strange principles driving science on the nanoscale. (Check out the the lab of Rob Wood)