Leonardo Network News

The Newsletter of the International Society for the Arts, Sciences, and Technology and of l'Observatoire Leonardo des Arts et Technosciences

Leonardo Affiliates

Leonardo Affiliates are top-ranked universities, independent nonprofits and corporations engaged in research and creative activities at the intersection of the arts, sciences and technology. We are pleased to feature three of our Affiliates:

The Sound Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago offers a unique M.F.A. program in the creative use of sound that goes well beyond the boundaries of a typical program in visual art, music or multimedia. Students may pursue the creation and recording of audio work; the composition of music in numerous genres; live performance, improvisation and audio installation; the integration of sound in other media, such as video, film, performance and web-based art; designing and building software and hardware instruments; live and recorded electroacoustic music; and the use of distribution technologies such as radio, Internet and others. See <www.saic.edu>.

The Minerva Foundation is a not-for-profit, charitable foundation dedicated to promoting original and challenging approaches to the study of the visual brain. The Minerva Foundation has three foci: (1) The Golden Brain is awarded annually to an investigator in the forefront of research for original discovery of significant findings with regard to vision and the brain, (2) the International Conference on Neuroesthetics is a gathering where cross-disciplinary scholars speak to a particular theme related to neuroesthetics and (3) The Minerva House Visiting Scholar Residency Program provides an opportunity for retreat as well as exchange in a gracious house in north Berkeley, close to the University of California. Leonardo thanks the Minerva Foundation for their support of the Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous series at UC Berkeley. See <www.minervaberkeley.org>.

The Herb Alpert School of Music at CalArts offers rigorous training in an unrivaled variety of musical styles and cultures. This vibrant mix helps each student acquire the musical fluency to work across conventional boundaries, expand his or her artistic and cultural horizons and develop a global creative vision. The school offers programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels, such as the Performer-Composer Program, Composition, Jazz, Music Technology, and Musical Arts. All interact in a lively, interdisciplinary atmosphere guided by principles of artistic excellence, experimentation, critical reflection and independent inquiry. Students work alongside faculty to contribute to the evolution of music practice as composers, performers and producers who will help shape the global musical landscape of tomorrow. See <music.calarts.edu>.

Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous

Leonardo/ISAST is pleased to welcome the new Institute of Arts and Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), to the family of Leonardo Art Science Evening Rendezvous (LASER) venues. In the inaugural event at UCSC, artists, scientists and scholars laid the foundation for the series by speaking about the intertwining of art and science. Questions such as "why art and science" and "why now" provide context for the series as a local forum for presenting art and science projects underway throughout the University of California, the Bay Area and beyond that are creative, original and interdisciplinary in nature.

UCSC is the third new LASER venue added this year. Since its inception, the program has grown across the U.S. with LASERs now hosted at the University of San Francisco, Stanford University, UCLA, UC Berkeley (sponsored by the Minerva Foundation) and a New York studio, in addition to UCSC. It has also sparked a sister event series in Washington, D.C., called DASER. The LASER series was first conceived and organized in San Francisco in 2008 as a forum for artists and scientists to share insights about their work with one another and with interested audience members. The event also provides participants and attendees with time to network. For information on upcoming LASER events or information about starting a LASER series on your campus, see <leonardoinfo/isast/laser.html>.

Leonardo Education and Art Forum

In conjunction with the CAA 102nd Annual Conference, to be held 12-15 February 2014 in Chicago, the Leonardo Education and Art Forum (LEAF) will present a panel titled "The Art/Science Curriculum in the Classroom...