Tag Archives: Ljiljana Fruk

Cloud and molecular aesthetics; an art/science conference features a bionanotechnology speaker

Here’s a notice from a June 19, 2014 from OCR (Operational and Curatorial Research in Art Design Science and Technology) organization newsletter highlighting an upcoming conference in Istanbul, Turkey, which includes a nanotechnology speaker,

Lanfranco Aceti, the founder of OCR; Edward Colless Head of Critical and Theoretical Studies and Paul Thomas, Program Director of Fine Art at COFA, are the lead chairs and organizers of the conference Cloud & Molecular Aesthetics from June 26 to 28, 2014, at the Pera Museum.

We invite you to three stimulating days that explores new perspectives and evolutions in contemporary art were acclaimed professionals including curators,historians, creative arts practitioners, critics and theorists consider transdisciplinary imaging relating to the theme of cloud, dispersal, infinitesimally small and molecular aesthetics. The conference is free and open to all. The program is available here.

The conference keynotes are Professor Anne Balsamo, Dean of the School of Media Studies at The New School, Dr. Ljiljana Fruk co-author of Molecular Aesthetics, Dr. Jussi Parikka who authored Insect Media: An Archaeology of Animals and Technology; and Prof. Darren Tofts author of Alephbet: Essays on Ghost-writing, Nutshells & Infinite Space.

The notice doesn’t mention the most interesting aspect (for me, anyway) of Dr. Ljiljana Fruk’s work. Here’s more from her OCR Cloud and Molecular Aesthetics Keynote bio page,

Dr. Fruk is a scientist and lecturer at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany working on the development of photosensitive bio nano hybrid systems to be used in the design of new catalysts, artificial enzymes and biosensors for nanomedicinal applications. [emphases mine] She studied chemistry at University of Zagreb and continued to pursue her PhD at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, where she worked on the development of advanced tools for DNA detection. After award of Humboldt Fellowship and Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship she conducted a postdoctoral research on artificial enzyme catalysts at the University of Dortmund in Germany. Since 2009 she leads her own research group and is also active in exploring the interface of art and science, in particular the cultural and societal impact of new technologies such as nanotechnology and synthetic biology. Besides number of scientific activities, she was also a co-organizer of the first symposium on Molecular Aesthetics (2011), 3D interactive exhibition on Molecules that Changed the World, and together with artist Peter Weibel, a co-editor of Molecular Aesthetic book (2013).

The official title for the conference is this: ‘The Third International Conference on Transdisciplinary Imaging at the Intersections of Art, Science and Culture’ although the organizers seem to be using the theme, Cloud and Molecular Aesthetics, as an easy way to refer to it. You can still register for the conference here: http://ocradst.org/cloudandmolecularaesthetics/registration/

I last mentioned the OCR in a March 24, 2014 posting about a call for papers for a conference on sound curation.

Comparing US and German reception of nanotechnology

There’s a tv (television) newsmagazine show devoted to nanotechnology that’s broadcast amongst other news shows in Germany according to an Aug. 8, 2013 news item on Azonano,

As Paul Youngman, professor of German at Washington and Lee (W&L) University, and student researchers Matthew Bittner and Curtis Correll learned this summer, your perception of nanotechnology—the manipulation of extremely small particles to make materials and machines—may depend on where you live.

In Germany, the scientific newsmagazine Nano spotlights nanoscience and emerging technologies. The show airs alongside other news programs. [emphasis mine] In the U.S., nanoscience is not featured regularly in the news. When U.S. broadcasters do run nanoscience stories, the coverage tends to be more sensational, said Bittner, whose research was funded by the W&L German Department.

“The Germans will look more at the short-term effect of science and technology—more realistic expectations,” said Bittner. American shows, while realistic, tend to look further into the future, and they highlight the most breathtaking possibilities.

The Aug. 7, 2013 W&L press release by Jeff Hanna, which originated the news item, notes that Youngman’s research is providing the basis for a forthcoming book,

“Nanotechnology is an emerging science that we don’t completely have a handle on, and our premise is always that science is never divorced from the larger culture at hand,” said Youngman. “What we’re doing is analyzing the cultural reception of nanotechnology as it exists right now. It’s a comparative study between German and U.S. reception.”

Rhetoric and public perception affect how nanotechnology is funded and regulated. Youngman’s book-in-progress, “National Nanotechnologies: Nanodiscourse in Germany and the United States,” compares rhetoric from a variety of sources in both countries. The book also examines nano imagery.

He focuses on Germany and the U.S. because they are the largest investors in nanoscience and technology (NST) in the European Union and North America, and the countries have partnered on numerous commercial and academic NST endeavors. Youngman is collaborating with Ljiljana Fruk, group leader at the Center for Functional Nanostructures (CFN) in Karlsruhe, Germany.

As noted in the press release, Youngman’s book, in additiion to rhetoric, is also examining nano imagery,

Curtis Correll, an economics and German and double major, from Memphis, Tenn., spent several weeks at CFN in Karlsruhe studying the ethics, usefulness and reliability of nano imagery. …

Correll watched an atomic force microscope (AFM) create nano images, a process called scanning probing microscopy. A probe uses electromagnetic waves to create a relief image of the nanoparticles, which are smaller than a wavelength of light and invisible to the human eye. This image is processed by computer software, which creates a final likeness.

“Some people call into question whether these images are truly reliable because they’re not raw data,” said Correll. Nano imagery initially appears in black and white. Scientists add colors and shadows to create contrasts for easier viewing. The choice of colors, however, can affect how the image is received.

There appears to be a misunderstanding, scanning probe microscopy includes both AFM and scanning tunneling microscopy amongst other forms of microscopy used at the nanoscale.  As for the process of creating nano images, it’s my understanding all microscopy at that scale employs software which renders data into images and some of these images are further ‘enhanced’ either for artistic purposes and/or to illustrate a particular point.

I am a little surprised to learn that Germany spends the most on nanoscience research as compared to other European countries. For some reason I thought that distinction belonged to the UK.  Nice to have my misassumptions corrected.