Is scientific discovery any less creative than the genius of music, design or visual art? When did science become hard and pragmatic – seemingly divorced from the creative process?
When history shows art and science often intertwined, epitomised by the great Leonardo da Vinci or the less well known Heddy Lamarr, should we be worried that modern science has lost much of its creative spark? Or rather, does our undiminished curiosity, our wonder at the physical and natural world, and our insatiable urge to discover actually mean that modern science remains one of the most creative endeavours of all?
This public lecture and forum explores science and creativity. It reveals the creative potential for breakthroughs in our understanding of the universe – through the drawing together of ideas, the cross-pollination of disciplines, and the creation of new ‘stories’ about how things work.
Ellen Yang (Moderator), Director, Creative Intelligence UTS
Ellen Yang has over 15 years' experience in economic and cultural policy, management, and program delivery in the creative industries, arts and major events, construction, manufacturing, and ICT sectors. She has held leadership roles in policy and programming in the Queensland Government, driving the development of pioneering, whole-of-Government strategies in design thinking and creative industries, and produced the inaugural Asia Pacific Design Festival, Unlimited. She was an integral member of the team responsible for establishing the Australian Institute for Commercialisation, and has worked in advertising.
Dr Alison Beavis, Director of Undergraduate Programs and Senior Lecturer, School of Chemistry and Forensic Science, UTS Faculty of Science
Dr Alison Beavis is an analytical chemist with research interests across areas such as the analysis of explosives, chemical warfare agents, firearms and illicit drugs using various analytical techniques. She maintains a strong interest in the area of trace element analysis in biological tissues, continuing on from the work completed during her PhD. Alison is also part of the trans-disciplinary team involved with the development and delivery of the UTS Bachelor of Creative Intelligence and Innovation.
Dr Lisa Roberts, Creative Fellow, Climate Change Cluster (C3), Faculty of Science, and Visiting Fellow, UTS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Dr Lisa Roberts is an interactive author and artist of Indigenous Australian and European ancestry. Her PhD resulted in a lexicon of primal gestural forms that she uses to combine scientific data and subjective responses. She developed and leads the Living Data program for making and presenting visualisations that arise from conversations between disciplines, about how living things (including us) respond to changes in climate. Through continuing interests in dance, visual arts, animation, Indigenous perspectives and Antarctic perceptions, she models action for sustaining diversity in human culture.
Associate Professor Cynthia Whitchurch, NHMRC Senior Research Fellow, ithree Institute, UTS
Dr Cynthia Whitchurch joined UTS in 2008. She established the UTS Microbial Imaging Facility of which she is the director, to provide state-of-the-art imaging and analysis technologies for the study of micro-organisms and their interactions with host cells. She has investigated bacterial pathogenesis for over 20 years, and developed considerable experience with optical microscopy techniques to study bacterial cell biology, biofilms, bacterial collective behaviours and host-pathogen interactions. Cynthia has a PhD from the University of Queensland, and post-doctoral training from the University of California in San Francisco.
Transport
UTS is only ten minutes’ walk from Central Station, Eddy Avenue and Railway Square bus stops. Parking is available for those with a disability or special need to drive: Peter Johnson Building, Basement Car Park, 702-730 Harris St. Ultimo.
RSVP Tuesday 9 September 2014
Enquiries: robert.button@uts.edu.au / Tel: 02 9514 1734
UTSPEAKS: is a free public lecture series presented by UTS experts discussing a range of important issues confronting contemporary Australia, proudly supported by the UTS Union.