A summary of the work

there are no particles, only fields

The discovery of the Higgs Boson particle in 2015 validated the ideas of quantum field theory. The theory states that subatomic particles behave less like discrete objects and more like excitations of a three-dimensional field that is all around us.

There are no particles only fields is a large-scale installation based loosely on diagrams first drawn by American scientist Richard Feynman to describe the behavior of subatomic particles. We learn in high school physics that two electrons will repel each other due to electromagnetic force. Now we understand that this repulsion comes from one electron transmitting a photon which gets absorbed by the other electron, sending it away.

Made with 10-foot steel frames and over 1500 feet of shock cord, this piece portrays one of the fundamental interactions that governs our universe. Its imposing scale and elegant geometry reveals the hidden beauty in even the smallest of encounters. 

STRANGE SEQUENCES

Strange Sequences puts audiences face-to-face with fictional scenarios torn from tomorrow’s headlines and asks them to make a difficult choice. Sample scenarios will touch on how climate change might create a two-tier GMO food hierarchy, or the ethical implications of altering the immune systems of wildlife populations to prevent the spread of disease, or inducing changes in children to increase creativity and memory with the potential of elevated risks of Alzheimer's in old age.

Visitors are challenged to see past simple solutions and question their assumptions about what is ethical and where society is headed. Whether attendees ponder them alone or debate them with a group, these provocative but near-future scenarios will surprise, concern, and challenge visitors to think critically about what they believe is moral, what is justifiable, what is appropriate, and what is unacceptable. 

IMPULSE

Impulse features a series of 10 translucent pressure-activated pillows connected in one long chain, with varying degrees of cushioning. When visitors push on a pillow, it sends light propagating down the chain. It is, in essence, a human-scale electric axon that lets visitors discover the essential role myelin plays in our lives.

january is a girl

January is a Girl is a performance and media piece that brings audiences into the world of a 24-year-old woman with ordinal linguistic personification. Video, words, sounds, images, ideas, and choreography are juxtaposed and merged in a loose, frenetic fashion—deliberately creating tension and sensory overload. 

CAMPFIRE

Campfire is animated by the idea of the tipping point, a critical juncture which allows changes to unfold. Three seats face each other inside an enclosed room with multicolored fluorescent lights lining the walls. Every time a visitor sits down, two nearby cool-colored lights are activated via the air pressure sensor. When all three seats are occupied, a critical mass is reached and an additional warmer tone fills the room.

BINARY OUTCOMES

Binary Outcomes mirrors the function of many scientific and social phenomena through a simple, music-based model. The piece uses pressure-activated sensors to respond to human touch, producing one track of a musical score to play through headphones.

When visitors touch one of the boxes and push gently, a few notes from the oboe come through. When others to join in and all five stations are touched, a familiar melody plays.

IN THE COMPANY OF GREAT SCIENTISTS

In the Company of Great Scientists challenges these antiquated notions by filling an immersive space with busts of female pioneers in STEM — Nobel Prize winners, astronauts, doctors, and inventors. In a callback to the starkness of Greek and Roman marble statues, these busts are pure white. But few know that those historic statues were once brightly painted, and only look white because the paint has been lost. In order to recognize that legacy, the Great Scientists busts sit in a room filled with colorful lines giving the feeling of connectedness, progress, and motion.

[DE]COMPOSE

[de]compose challenges viewers to reconsider the final manifestation of the products they purchase and use. It features a set of everyday furniture and home goods made from biomaterials including mycelium and Piñatex. Mycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae, that can be used to make commercial products. Piñatex is a natural, non-woven textile made from pineapple leaf fiber that’s soft, lightweight, and durable. This interactivity blurs the lines between ecology, art, and decor. Where so much art eventually turns into trash in a landfill, [de]compose will simply fade away, underscoring the ephemeral nature and beauty of bio-materials.

beyond curie

Beyond Curie is a celebration of 45 highly accomplished women in STEM, including 17 female winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics, Chemistry, and Medicine/ Physiology. Despite all the progress that has been made in science and engineering, many women still find themselves unwelcome and constantly needing to prove themselves. This portrait series recognizes and uplifts female exemplars so that everyone can understand that women have every reason to belong, whether it's in a research lab, at the head of a department, or as the founder of a startup.