Arts, Media and Engineering Blog

Clinical Virtual Reality: A Brief Review of the Future

Biomedical Informatics Symposium Series – Speaker: Albert (Skip) Rizzo

Apr. 8, noon – 1 p.m.
This presentation will provide a brief overview of the many forms of virtual reality that have been applied across a diverse range of clinical disorders and research questions. A detailed overview will be included on the use of virtual reality for exposure therapy for anxiety disorders, addictive behaviors and with Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom military personnel with post-traumatic stress disorder. This will be followed by overviews of research and clinical applications of virtual reality for cognitive assessment/rehabilitation, motor rehabilitation, pain distraction and social interaction. The social interaction overview will conclude with the detailing of an emerging project area that involves the creation of artificially intelligent virtual human “patients” for clinical training. Rizzo will also bring a virtual reality head-mounted display and demonstrate some virtual reality programs that can be run from an off-the-shelf laptop computer.

Biography

Albert “Skip” Rizzo received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the State University of New York at Binghamton. He is an associate director at the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies (Medical Virtual Reality) and has research professor appointments with the USC Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and at the USC School of Gerontology. Professor Rizzo conducts research on the design, development and evaluation of virtual reality systems targeting the areas of clinical assessment, treatment and rehabilitation. This work spans the domains of psychological, cognitive and motor functioning in both healthy and clinical populations. Visit vrpsych.ict.usc.edu/research <http://vrpsych.ict.usc.edu/research.html> for more information.

Parking

Metered parking is available in the University of Arizona College of Medicine parking lot at the northwest corner of Van Buren and 7th Street. Rate is $2 per hour for the first two hours, then $1 per hour after that. The parking meter will not give change but will accept cash, debit or credit cards.

Map>> <http://www.asu.edu/tour/downtown/uacmppasu.html>

This event is free and open to the public.
Unable to attend? View this event live online at streaming.biocom.arizona.edu/home <http://streaming.biocom.arizona.edu/home> | Visit bmi.asu.edu/events <http://bmi.asu.edu/events>  for upcoming speakers or to join our mailing list.
Please contact Patricia Hutton for more information.

The following lines up very well with our current discussion on metastructures. Please take a look. I have the whole report if anyone is interested.

From the talk the President of Olin College gave at the Baker Forum (also check out Olin College, a very innovative place)

From president Miller’s talk at the Baker Forum:

Miller suggested that changes in engineering education, to produce engineers with wider interests and abilities,
include:
• Defining engineering more broadly, as a profession that solves problems, creates products of value for society and
appeals to the altruism of today’s young people who are eager to improve the world
• Identifying engineering applicants who have a balance of analytical, creative and leadership skills, using interviews or
essays to select qualified candidates
• Employing “spiral learning,” in which short periods of work on advanced experimental projects alternate with short
periods of theoretical study to fill gaps in knowledge, a strategy that leads to improved retention of course material

“Projects in which interdisciplinary teams are focused on solving common problems—
for example, the invention of a device or a system—require that students construct
authentic mental models of the principles involved. They learn in the laboratory, not by
memorizing or taking multiple-choice tests. The device needs to work and if doesn’t you
have to find out why.

“Finally, being creative takes courage. The essence of creativity is seeing things
that other people don’t—innovating and inventing require that we visualize new things.
Bu the social consequences of possessing a new vision are often negative and may cause
creative persons to become alienated from a society that doesn’t share
their sense of possibilities. Young people are particularly vulnerable to feelings of isolation
and many of our most creative individuals may stifle their good ideas in order to
conform. Our universities need to improve the learning environment, to reduce social
resistance to creative thinking and minimize the onus placed on the frequent failure
that is often an initial part of the pursuit of original ideas.”

Today’s engineering graduates must work successfully in diverse, multidisciplinary
teams that include non-engineers and individuals from different cultures, age
groups and levels of achievement and authority, some of whom may be working
from different time zones or countries. Learning to work in teams doesn’t happen
automatically but depends on interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligence. An essential
sensitivity to the group dynamic allows engineers to lead as well as to follow, to work toward consensus decisions,
and to trust others and build lasting relationships. Willingness to work for the team’s success
rather than for personal gain is a key attitude.”

W. Zev Rymer, MD, PhD

Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Northwestern University

Rehabilitation of disabling neurological disorders such as stroke and spinal cord injury is time and

labor intensive. Many therapy visits are necessary, and it appears that there is potential improvement in clinical state, continuing well beyond the traditional 3?4 months of therapy provided by most health care plans.

To improve clinical outcomes, and to offer lower cost solutions for continuing care, there have been many efforts to automate rehabilitation therapy using various robotic systems. These include devices such as the LokomatR, an actuated exoskeleton for walking, complex upper extremity devices like the Armin, a multi-degree of freedom upper extremity exoskeletal device, and the well established MIT Manus.

To date, none of these devices has generated major improvements in clinical outcome, beyond

that provided by a therapist or by therapist teams. Furthermore, we do not really understand how best to use these systems.

Accordingly, this talk will focus on some of the constraints and limitations of robotic systems in

delivering rehabilitation therapy to patients with stroke or SCI.

School of Arts, Media and Engineering

Friday Afternoon Club

March 12, 3?5 PM

Digital Arts Ranch

Southeast Corner of Myrtle + University

Cultural ecologist, David Abram, will be in residence through the Herberger Institute Schools of Art and Dance as part of an evolving discussion on the interdisciplinary shape of the arts and our human responsibility in the 21st century.

In recent years the New England Aquarium sponsored a large public debate between David Abram  and distinguished biologist Edward O. Wilson, at Faneuil Hall in Boston, on science and ethics. In 2005, David was invited to give the keynote address for the United Nations “World Environment Week” to 70 mayors from the largest cities around the world. The address was given under the towering redwood trees at Muir Woods, at the very spot where the United Nations charter was originally signed into being sixty years earlier.

David will give a talk on “The Ecology of Wonder” on Wednesday, March 24th from 12:15 -2:00 in Katzin Concert Hall, ASU School of music.

Please join the discussion as we work together to form a new paradigm.

The founding idea of AME was fairly straightforward: the next generation of media systems had to embrace the growing complexity of our existence. Such complex systems required the recruitment of diverse types of knowledge. It also required that the different experts that joined AME were committed to the transdisciplinary mission of new media systems rather than to the discipline/preparation they might have come from. It became clear to us fairly early on, that this commitment to the meta structure of new media systems had to be absolute. If not, we were running the danger of AME never maturing or producing its goal. We were also running the danger of disappointing people who came to AME believing that they were coming to practice their discipline using new media rather than contributing to new media systems with broad applications that transcended specific disciplines. We felt that we had to start strict and once the mission and process of AME were established and clear then we would be in a position to embrace more peripheral activity that could still benefit our work.

So, the strictness of the first stage of our creation was necessary. Of course when taking a strict position one runs the danger of being misunderstood. Strictness is many times understood as a defense mechanism rather than as a construction mechanism. This problem is exacerbated when the strictness focuses on a meta- structure of the overall context in which one is acting. To be more specific: academia is still highly disciplinary. If we were to decide to be strict in an existing disciplinary manner (“we only focus on high level music performance or high level mathematics”) we might be seen as slightly odd but not as non-academic. Focusing strictly on a meta-structure in current academia runs the danger of being judged from a narrow disciplinary perspective rather than from a fitting meta perspective. Instead of being judged on our new media systems, many times AME is dismissed for what it is not doing in terms of disciplinary practice: you are not supporting art, you don’t do pure science, this is engineering-light. But things do change. Academia is beginning to embrace the need for meta structures in order to engage complex societal problems. Most importantly, academia is beginning to accept the notion that including meta structures (i.e. biodesign) makes local structures (i.e. existing disciplines) stronger rather than weaker.

Of course, another danger one faces when focusing strictly on meta structure is that the members of our own community begin to feel that they can only practice meta level work and that local work (in terms of intellectual space) is being frowned upon. Thus, when one needs to sketch to develop a better new media system they shy away from sketching because that might be seen as practicing art. When one needs to run a modeling simulation they don’t do it because that might be seen as theoretical science rather than applied media work. That is of course not accurate. Focused local work (in terms of intellectual space) is many times necessary for achieving strong meta structures. Although building a media installation just so it can be seen in a gallery is not what AME does, prototyping a participatory installation that explores how people perceive similarity of action and presenting its results in a manner that can be widely used by our community is a darn good thing.

We are therefore taking quick steps to address this emerging weakness in our school. If you go to our research page you will see that it has been reorganized to present both local work and big problem work and to show the symbiosis between the two. We are trying to grow our participatory culture activity: a forum for unbounded exploration of new media systems and creative practice. We are trying to make sure that the outcomes of our work become more diversified: from a fabrication workshop that is mostly about process to a system that is about stroke rehab. As at every stage of our growth, we have asked all the members of our community to help us shape the next stage of our evolution and we are again doing so now. We are looking forward to everyone’s participation in this discussion.

There were some key ideas discussed yesterday that I think can be of help in us growing some of our local work (again, local in terms of intellectual space) without compromising the meta focus of our work. Re-use of ideas, systems etc from the meta space helps connect local work to meta work. Formally recognizing local work as part of our formal load of work, for faculty, students and staff alike, and resourcing it accordingly, highlights the synergy of local and meta work in an academic unit like AME. We will be discussing at our next faculty/staff meeting how to best do this from the faculty and staff side and we would very much want to hear from the students how we can best facilitate this approach from the student side.

Many a thanks to all for your contributions to this important discussion. Looking forward to your feedback.

thanassis

The Open Agent Based Modeling Consortium (http://www.openabm.org) has an opening for a graduate RA and is seeking a web designer with a strong background in information

visualization and user interface / user experience design to help refine our Drupal website.

The web designer’s responsibilities will include:

• redesigning and improving the overall layout, interaction, and workflow of the site

• designing and developing intuitive browsing, searching, and metadata management interfaces for an existing custom Drupal module

Desired qualifications:

• Strong UI design skills with HTML/CSS and/or Dreamweaver / Photoshop

• Experience with JQuery or equivalent JavaScript libraries

• Experience with Drupal themes and PHP are a plus

To apply, please email a cover letter and resume to allen.lee@asu.edu

Assistant/Associate Professor – Digital Arts & Sciences

The University of Florida Digital Worlds Institute, in collaboration with the Colleges of Fine Arts and Journalism & Communications, seeks new visionary faculty members with expertise in the rapidly emerging fields of Interactive Media / Digital Arts & Sciences. We are looking for candidates from a wide range of disciplinary backgrounds. Ideal candidates would have demonstrated expertise in digital media arts and sciences and related technologies, with identified interests in new and emerging media research. The starting date for these positions is August 16, 2010.

Rank and Salary: Assistant or Associate Professor tenure track position; nine-month salary commensurate with qualifications and experience.

Qualifications: Ph.D. (or terminal degree in an appropriate area) preferred and a minimum of three to five years of professional experience in an area related to Interactive Media / Digital Arts & Sciences. The successful candidate will have a distinguished record of scholarship, research and/or professional project development appropriate to be appointed at the assistant or associate professor level.

Responsibilities: The successful candidates will become members of a new team of transdisciplinary Digital Arts & Sciences (DAS) faculty. The DAS faculty form the core of a dynamic academic and research consortium between UF’s Colleges of Journalism & Communications, Fine Arts, and Engineering, centered at the Digital Worlds Institute. The tenure track for these new positions will reside in the interdisciplinary Digital Worlds Institute.

The DAS faculty members will teach courses in digital media and direct master’s and doctoral student research across the partnering Colleges and Institute. The faculty members will engage in interdisciplinary teaching andresearch promoting the further development of graduate and undergraduate DAS study and research.

Application Procedure: To view application instructions and complete an online resume, visit http://www.hr.ufl.edu/job Select SEARCH POSTINGS and enter the Requisition # 0803588. Applications must include an electronic copy of the following: (1) a letter of interest; (2) complete curriculum vitae; (3) names, addresses, e-mail addresses and telephone numbers of at least three professional/academic references. The Search Committee may request additional materials at a later time. If an accommodation due to a disability is needed to apply for this position, please call (352) 392- 4621 or the Florida Relay System at (800) 955-8771 (TDD).

Questions can be directed to: Chair, DAS Faculty Search, PO 115800 University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-5800 or via email to: info@digitalworlds.ufl.edu

Review of applications will begin January 15, 2010 and continue until an applicant pool is established. Applicants are urged to apply ASAP for fullest possible consideration.

For more information on the UF Digital Worlds Institute, please visit our website at http://www.digitalworlds.ufl.edu

The University of Florida seeks applications and nominations from a broad spectrum of individuals including women, members of diverse ethnic groups, and persons with disabilities. The University of Florida is an equal opportunity institution.

Tenure-Track or Academic Staff position in Media Arts & Game Development (MAGD)/Electronic Media at the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater available. See http://www.uww.edu/cac/about/employment.html for more information.

Grad Students-  If you have an interest in learning about, networking with or going into the business of social media, this is a great opportunity to meet some of the major players here in AZ and around the country.  There is going to be a lot of real world experience at this event that should prove very valuable to those interested!

He offers a very low ticket price for students of $25. It takes place on January 23rd at MADCAP, right across the street from campus! (P.S. There is food included!)

http://smaz.eventbrite.com/

Social Media for Business AZ is the place to learn about Social Media related to business!

A business focused event designed to help businesses understand, improve and learn about Social Media. Learn from Industry Experts and Corporations that are already using Social Media to reach and support their clients. Presenters range from Fortune 200 executives to Social Media authors and SEM architects with years of experience willing to share the challenges and rewards of implementing internal and external Social media strategies. Learn policies, processes, tool sets, and monitoring techniques from the experts.

Ever Growing list of Speakers & Panelists include:

- Greg Chapman – President of Sitewire

- Jason Baer – SM Strategist, President of Convince & Convert

- Pamela Slim – Coach, Author, Business Specialist.

- Arnie Kuenn – President, Vertical Measures

- Jeff Moriarty – Enterprise SM Expert (Intel), Sitewire

- Kathy Sacks – Marketing & PR Expert, Sacks PR

- Fred von Graf – SM Architect & Consultant, SocialMediaAZ.org

- Chris Johnson – Founder & Managing Partner, Terralever

- Scott McAndrews – Director of Strategy, Terralever

- Tiffany Winman – Social Media Strategist, IBM

- Sheila Kloefkorn – Founder & President, KEO Marketing

- Linda Vandevrede – Public Relations Consultant & Author

Why join us?

Learn from and meet the best in the business!

The major Digital Agencies will all be there.

Everything from the 101 session, Small / Medium Business to Enterprise.

Join our panel of experts in a comfortable environment allowing for direct interaction.  Ask questions that are pertinent to your organization.

Hear and see how other companies are approaching Social Media, the challenges and successes.

What tools are being using?

How do you measure success?

How do you convince your management?

What questions do you need to ask to be successful?

How to address corporate policies around Social Media?

Meet others with similar goals and make new connections.

Oh and there’s some great food from Einsteins Bagels.

Exceptional prizes are being given away!

For additional information please go to: SocialMediaAZ.org

Use #SMAZ on Twitter: http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23SMAZ

ASU Emeritus College Center for Mentoring offering mentoring service for ASU faculty and students. See http://emerituscollege.asu.edu/ecm.html for more information.

In December 2009 LEA – Leonardo Electronic Almanac, a member of the Leonardo/ISAST/MIT Press family – will re-launch.  Its new format will combine the features of a high-production-value art magazine with the scholarly rigor of an academic journal. Lanfranco Aceti, Editor in Chief, and Paul Brown, Co-editor, intend to produce a well illustrated, attractive and readable magazine that will simultaneously be available online as a hyperlinked screen-resolution PDF document, a high-resolution print-on-demand magazine and in a downloadable version for book readers on electronic devices like the Amazon Kindle.  The publications will be integrated into a regularly updated web portal that will provide additional and supporting services like announcements, opportunities, interactive content-oriented blogs and Wikis.  This LEA online environment is intended

to be a hierarchical content generator with the quarterly publication representing a punctuated pinnacle of this multidimensional, user-driven, discipline-oriented social network.

LEA will focus on the convergence of arts, science and technology and combine special issue front-end features with ongoing thematic background content.  It will combine invited and commissioned essays with peer-reviewed scholarly papers.

The target audience for the publication encompasses a broad spectrum ranging from professionals active in the field to laypeople with a general interest in the contemporary arts.  We believe the time is right for an arts, sciences and technology publication pitched centrally within the arts mainstream.

The theme of the first issue of the Leonardo Electronic Almanac magazine is mish mash.

The first issue will be a collection of articles, reviews and opinion pieces that discuss and analyze the complexity of mixing things together as a process that is not necessarily undertaken in an orderly and organized manner. In this issue there will be contributions from Frieder Nake, Stelarc, Paul Catanese and other important cultural operators.

Although the magazine is thematically structured, the concept of mish mash leaves a wide open opportunity to discuss issues in interdisciplinary education; art, science and technology interactions; personal artistic practices; history of re-combinatory practices; hybridizations between old and new media; cultural creolization; curatorial studies and more.

Under the editorship of Lanfranco Aceti and Paul Brown the magazine call is open to the0retical, scientific and cultural analyses as well as practice based pieces or a mish mash of all of the above.

The Leonardo Electronic Almanac (LEA) will produce an online and print on demand issue, as well as host curated images and videos online.

Send Proposals to: info@leoalmanac.org

a) Subject heading: mish mash.

b) 500 hundred word abstract for articles.

c) 2 images at 72 dpi resolution no larger than 800 pixels width for artists.

d) Links to previous work, videos or personal sites.

e) Deadline for full papers is February 15, 2010 for publication in the first issue.

f) Please feel free to disseminate and forward this call to interested parties.

Our publication formats allow for full-color throughout and we encourage rich pictorial content where relevant and possible.  Note however that all material submitted must be copyright cleared (or due diligence must be evidenced).  For online publication a wide variety of media content may be considered (animation, mp3, flash, java, etc)

* For scholarly papers please submit the final paper ready for peer review. Your contribution will be reviewed by at least two members of the LEA board and revisions may be requested subject to review.

* For themed and pictorial essays please submit an abstract or outline for editorial consideration and further discussion.

* Please keep your news, announcements and hyperlinks brief and focused. include contact details and a link to an external site where relevant.  We reserve the right to sub-edit your submissions in order to comply with LEA policies and formats.  Where material is time-sensitive please include both embargo and expiry dates.

* In all cases specify special system considerations where these are necessary (platform, codecs, plug-ins, etc)

We hope you share our excitement about the new LEA and we look forward to hearing from you!

For further information or images submission contact:

Ozden.Sahin@leoalmanac.org

Lanfranco Aceti

Lanfranco.Aceti@leoalmanac.org

Editor in Chief, Leonardo Electronic Almanac

Paul Brown

Paul.Brown@leoalmanac.org

Co-Editor, Leonardo Electronic Almanac

The Department of Art and Art History at Oakland University is accepting applications for a tenure-track Assistant Professor position in Art: New Media, with a start date of August 15, 2009.  Primary teaching duties include beginning to advanced fine art New Media courses. Candidates must hold an MFA in New Media or related field, have teaching experience at the undergraduate level, and have a significant exhibition record in their area of studio art practice. Candidates should possess fluency in historical and conceptual frameworks for New Media practices, a strong understanding of contemporary art and visual culture practices, and have expertise in one or more New Media areas such as sound art, net.art, immersive media, interactive and responsive art/installation, augmented digital performance, and animation.

The Department of Art and Art History offers undergraduate majors in art history, studio art and studio art with a K-12 art education certification.  The department includes the Oakland University Art Gallery, which presents changing exhibitions featuring both regional and international contemporary artists, historical art, and student thesis exhibitions.  Visit our website at http://www.oakland.edu/art-history .

Applicants should include a cover letter; CV; statement of teaching philosophy; samples of applicant’s current artwork in New Media and samples of student work in New Media (digital portfolio may be on a CD or DVD, and may include URL references); an artist’s statement on the applicant’s own artwork.  Three letters of recommendation should be sent separately.

Applications must be postmarked by January 2, 2010.  Send to Professor Vagner Whitehead, Chair, New Media Search Committee, Department of Art and Art History, Oakland University, Rochester, MI 48309-4401. Preliminary interviews will be held at the College Art Association National Conference in Chicago, February 2010. Oakland University is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Laptop performance of computer music has become wide spread in the electronic music community. It brings with it many issues pertaining to the communication of musical intent. Critics argue that performances of this nature fail to engage audiences as many performers use the mouse and keyboard to control their musical works, leaving no visual cues to guide the audience as to the correlation between performance gestures and musical outcomes. Interfaces need to communicate something of their task. Garth will argue that cognitive affordances associated with the performance interface become paramount if the musical outcomes are to be perceived as clearly tied to realtime performance gestures, ie. That the audience is witnessing the creation of the music in that moment as distinct to the manipulation of pre-recorded or pre-sequenced events.

This talk will discuss outcomes from the ThuMP project, and the ongoing TIEM project, specifically new models and proposed design guidelines for interactive music systems. Garth will also discuss a bio-sensor driven dance work he has been developing with Hellen Sky in Australia with support from the Australia Council of the Arts, ArtLab fund. Garth will also show a short video of the applications of these ideas in music therapy, which utilise video tracking for interaction for heavily disabled clients, and illustrate some applications of the WiiMotes.

Dr Garth Paine is Senior Lecturer in Music Technology, a researcher at MARCS Auditory Research labs and director of the Virtual, Interactive, Performance Research environment (VIPRe) http://vipre.uws.edu.au/ . He is particularly fascinated with sound as an exhibitable object. This passion has led to several interactive responsive environments where the inhabitant generates the sonic landscape through their presence and behaviour. It has also led to several music scores for dance generated through video tracking of the choreography. His work has been shown throughout Australia, Europe, Japan, USA, Hong Kong and New Zealand.

Dr Paine is internationally regarded as an innovator in the field of interactivity in experimental music and media arts. He is an active contributor to the International NIME conference and has been guest editor of Organised Sound Journal on several occasions. Dr Paine’s ensemble SynC (http://www.syncsonics.com) acts as a platform for research into new interfaces for electronic music performance. SynC has performed in, Paris (2006), New York (2007), Liquid Architecture (2007), Aurora festival (2006, 2008), and The Australian New Music Network concert series (2008). He is a member of the advisory panel for the Electronic Music Foundation, New York and an advisor to the UNESCO funded Symposium on the Future. Dr Paine is a Chief Investigator on several current Australian Research Council grants.

His work can be found at http://www.activatedspace.com

School of Arts, Media and Engineering

Friday Afternoon Club

November 13, 3-5 PM

Digital Arts Ranch

Southeast Corner of Myrtle + University

ARTECH 2010 -5th International Conference of Digital Arts
22 & 23 April, 2010 – Guimarães, Portugal

http://www.artech-international.com/artech2010

Call for Submissions

Artech 2010 is the fifth international conference held on the topic of
Digital Arts. It aims at promoting contacts between Iberian and
International contributors concerned with the concept, production and
dissemination of Digital and Electronic Art.
Artech 2010 aims at bringing the scientific, technological and
artistic community together, while promoting the interest in the
digital culture and its intersection with art and technology as an
important research field, a common space for discussion and exchange
of experiences, a forum for emerging digital artists understanding and
be delighted with new forms of digital expression.

Main areas are related with sound, image, video, music, multimedia,
architecture and other new media related topics, in the context of
emerging practice of artistic creation. Although non exclusive, the
main topics of the conference are:
-Art and Science Theory
-Audio-Visual and Multimedia Design
-Creativity Theory
-Digital Fabrication
-Electronic Music
-Generative and Algorithmic Art
-Generative Computational Design
-Immersive Art
-Interactive Systems for Artistic Applications
-Media Art history
-Mobile Multimedia
-Net Art and Digital Culture
-New Experiences with Digital Media
-Parametric Design
-Tangible and Gesture Interfaces
-Technology in Art Education

Submissions
Authors are invited to submit:
-A full paper of six to ten pages for oral presentation
-A short paper up to four pages for poster presentations or art
installations proposals
Submissions are accepted in the conference official languages:
English, Portuguese, Galician and Castilian.

Submission format
All papers should be in A4 format and should be formatted in
accordance with the norms and guidelines defined in the model
available in the Artech site.
All papers accepted for presentation will be published in a duly
registered book (ISBN) and a selection of the best papers will be
published in an appropriate scientific and technological academic
journal.

Link for Submission System: https://www.easychair.org/login.cgi?conf=artech2010

Submissions can also be sent via e-mail to: submissions@artech-international.com

Full papers submission: 27 November 2009
Installations proposals and short papers submission: 04 December 2009
Full papers notice of acceptance: 15 January 2010
Installations proposal and Short notice of acceptance: 29 January 2010
Submission full paper final version: 25 February 2010
Early Registration Deadline: 22 March 2010

Organization
[UM] Minho University, School of Engineering/School of Architecture

Leonel Valbom
Artech 2010 Chairmain

MARCH 4-6, 2010
THE AMMERMAN CENTER FOR ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY AT CONNECTICUT COLLEGE
“REVOLUTION: TECHNOLOGY AS CHANGE”
Web site and PDF: http://cat.conncoll.edu/sym2010/
DEADLINE: NOV 1, 2009 (POSTMARK DATE)
_______________________________________
SYMPOSIUM MISSION
The mission of the symposium is for participants to present new works, research and performances in the areas of technology and the arts. The symposium will consist of commissioned works, paper sessions, panel discussions, exhibitions, concerts, film screenings and multi-media performances. In an effort to demystify the artistic process and create a forum for dialogue, we are encouraging all presenters and artists whose works are being shown or performed to speak about their work at the symposium. In addition, artists and researchers are encouraged to relate work to a wider context and engage in critical debate. The Center seeks submissions in the general areas of Innovative Uses of New Technologies, Interactivity, Compositional and Artistic Process, Technology in Arts Education, Interdisciplinary Topics in Arts and Technology including: Art, Music, Video, Film, Animation, Theater, Dance, Virtual Reality, Computer Science, and other pertinent topics.
SUBMISSION CATEGORIES
PAPERS
Papers should address scholarly work in a field related to Arts and Technology. A two-page extended abstract or complete paper must be submitted by the due date. Upon acceptance, revised 4-8 page papers must be submitted as a PDF for publication in the Symposium Proceedings. All rights will remain with the author. Paper authors will give 15-20 minute oral presentations during the paper sessions. Proposals for panel discussions are encouraged and papers may be grouped by the Center in panel discussion format. Panel proposals should include names of prospective panelists and topic, which should address the general areas of the symposium.
MUSIC
Music submissions (including composition, performance, theory, interactivity, signal processing) are encouraged. Works for instruments and electronic sounds, digital media, CD, interactive compositions or works for electronic sounds alone are being solicited for live performance and “tape only” concerts. Music must be submitted on CD or DVD, should not exceed 15 minutes in length and must include accompanying scores, as appropriate. Musicians, dancers and actors may be available for live performance pieces. Submissions must include a one-page description/abstract for presentation at the symposium, plus complete technical, equipment and performance needs. Limit one piece per submission.
ART
Visual art submissions exploring the use of everyday technologies as a creative expression within a community/public space context; time-based media, digital art, web art and other technology-based or technology-oriented art forms are encouraged. Also of interest are proposals for workshops, technical demonstrations, panel discussions on interactive studies and/or multi-media studies in an interdisciplinary context. Submissions must include a one-page description/abstract of the work for presentation at the symposium, plus a web-site, DVD or visual materials.
VIDEO and FILM
Submissions of short video or film works that include a significant ‘technology’ component in their creation, aesthetic or theme are encouraged. The ‘tech’ involved may be ‘high’ or ‘low’, ranging from digital animation and motion capture work on the ‘high-tech’ end to various methods of digital production and networked distribution on the “low end.”  Submissions must include a one page description/abstract for presentation at the symposium, plus DV, DVD or DVCAM tape.
DANCE and THEATER
Computer-generated or computer-aided dance compositions and theater works are being solicited for live demonstrations or for videotaped presentations. Specially produced dance or theater videos are of particular interest as opposed to concert tapes or other archival uses of video. Also of interest are proposals for workshops, demonstrations of software for dance or theater notation, choreographic analysis, interactive studies and/or multimedia studies of performance in dance and theater. Performances may be accepted, but will depend on the technical needs and financial considerations. Submissions must include a one-page description/abstract for presentation at the symposium, plus DVD, and complete technical, performance and spatial needs.
___________________________________________
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ALL SUBMISSIONS
DEADLINES
October 1, 2009:                   Commissioned Works Deadline (PAST)
November 1, 2009:                Commissioned Works Acceptance Notification
November 1, 2009:                General Submission Deadline (postmark date)
December 1, 2009:                General Acceptance Notification
January 15, 2010:                     Final papers must be received as PDF
March 1-6, 2010:                       Residencies for Commissioned Works
March 4-6, 2010:                       Symposium at Connecticut College

RETURN
Submissions, CDs, DVDs, or scores will only be returned if a self-addressed stamped envelope or packaging is provided.

SEND SUBMISSIONS TO:

Ammerman Center for Arts and Technology
Connecticut College
270 Mohegan Avenue
BOX 5365
New London, CT 06320 USA
(860)439-2001
http://cat.conncoll.edu <http://cat.conncoll.edu/>
email: cat@conncoll.edu <mailto:eofri@conncoll.edu>
Symposium:http://cat.conncoll.edu/sym2010

paintings by John Avedisian & Linda Storey-London, November 6-25, 2009

Reception Nov 6th, 2009 @ 7pm, alwunhouse.org

PROSPECTIVES.09
International Digital Arts Festival
November 12-14, 2009, University of Nevada, Reno

Attention Graduate and Phd Candidates!

Call For Proposals: Exhibit, Play, Present, Perform, Project(full dome)

Deadline for submissions:
DEADLINE EXTENDED! Must arrive by October 5th, 2009

http://www.unr.edu/art/prospectives09.html

A limited number of travel/accommodation grants are available and will be awarded by the festival jurors.

Prospectives.09 will highlight the work of currently enrolled graduate and phd candidates working in experimental digital media at Universities throughout the United States and abroad. Graduate students working in and across disciplines are encouraged to submit works to be considered for this unique opportunity. The event breaks down into five interrelated events/venues: exhibit, play, perform, project and present.

We invite proposals from currently enrolled graduate and phd students to submit work for consideration. Creative practitioners working in all visual and performative media incorporating digital systems, including but not limited to: interactive art, robotics, movement/dance, computer gaming, net art, full-dome video/animation, generative systems, electronic sculpture, locative media, interventionist practices, electronic music/audio art, experimental theater, performance art, etc. are invited to apply. Collaborations and works in progress are welcome and encouraged.

This event is sponsored by the Benna Foundation for Excellence in the Fine Arts, The University of Nevada, Reno, Department of Art, The Sheppard Fine Arts Gallery, the Fleischman Planetarium and Science Center, and the Nevada Museum of Art.

Contact: Joseph DeLappe delappe “@” unr.edu

Please see http://comm.boisestate.edu/Employment/Employment.htm for more details.

Hi ASU Film Lovers!

You are invited to a special screening of HBO’s acclaimed series True Blood followed by a Q & A session with Cinematographer, Matthew Jensen!

This Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 7:45 pm, please join cinema capstone professor Adam Collis in ASU’s Education Lecture Hall (EDC 117; www.asu.edu/map/interactive/?campus=tempe&building=EDC) for Season 1 Episode 5, “Sparks Fly Out“.  Afterwards, Matthew will be answering your questions about working on True Blood and working in Hollywood.

The Q & A session will be done via video conference and will start at approximately 8:45 pm.  You are welcome to come just for the Q & A.

Matthew’s credits can be found here: www.imdb.com/name/nm0421608

This is the third presentation of our screening/Q & A series, Talk with the Filmmakers, which features some of the most talented professionals working in Hollywood today.

Please feel free to forward this invitation to anyone who might like to come.   For more information or if you have any questions, please e-mail Brett Dellandre at bdelland@asu.edu

Hope to see you Tuesday night!

WHAT

True Blood followed by a Q & A session with Cinematographer, Matthew Jensen

WHEN

Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 7:45 pm

WHERE

ASU’s Education Lecture Hall (EDC 117; www.asu.edu/map/interactive/?campus=tempe&building=EDC)

NO RSVP REQUIRED – SEATING IS FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE

Invited Talk
Title: Thespian: A Decision-Theoretic Framework for Authoring Interactive Narratives
Ms. Mei Si
Dept of the University of Southern California
Date: August 28th, Friday, 11:00am – 12:00noon
Place: BYENG (Brickyard) 210

Abstract:
One of the ultimate research goals for Artificial Intelligence is the design of life-like intelligent characters that can interact with us in virtual environments. My research explores interactive narratives virtual environments that allow a user to play a character in a story and interact with other autonomous characters driven by AI. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in building such virtual environments for pedagogical and entertainment purposes. The design of interactive narrative faces many challenges, where the central challenge arises from the incorporation of interactivity into narrative. User interactivity leads to many alternative paths through the story. Keeping track of all these paths, and making sure that both the story and the portrayal of characters are self-consistent and consistent with the author’s intentions, becomes increasingly difficult as the user is given more freedom to interact.  Typically, this issue has been addressed by extensive programming effort that hand-tailors the experience. However, the authors of interactive narratives are often not, and should not be restricted to programmers. In this talk, I present a multi-agent framework, Thespian, for modeling intelligent virtual characters, monitoring and managing their interactions with the user for creating the author’s intended effects. I will discuss how Thespian’s authoring procedures are designed to help the authors, especial non-technical authors and traditional writers, craft interactive narratives.

BIO:
Mei Si is a Ph.D. candidate in the Computer Science Department at theUniversity of Southern California. She is advised by Stacy Marsella. Mei’s research focuses on Embodied Conversational Agent, Interactive Narrative and Human-Computer Interaction. She received a M.S. in computer science from the University of Arizona and a M.A. in psychology from the University of Cincinnati. Before coming to the United States, she completed her B.S. in Psychology at Peking University, P. R. China.