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Scott Huh DESMA 9 Week 9: Space + Art

Space elevator diagram Humans have always had the innate urges to attain new knowledge and explore new worlds. Due to this, human interest in unveiling the mysteries of space has been prevalent and everlasting. From telescopes to space shuttles, we have continued to challenge our scientific limits, thriving to discover more about the world we live in today. As a civil engineer, I found the concept of space infrastructures, such as a space elevator, to be extremely interesting. Like the beanstalk in Jack and the Beanstalk , the space elevator is a static structure that is literally out of this world, reaching a geostationary orbit at a height of thirty-six thousand kilometers. There are countless design considerations that go into this structure. The lower end of the elevator would be subjected to stronger gravitational force, counterbalanced by the centrifugal force at the upper end. As a result, the elevator would be put under massive tensile force, so the material would have

Scott Huh DESMA 9 Week 8: Nanotechnology + Art

Nano-particles in textile, making clothes waterproof This week, a UCLA professor from the CNSI department, Dr. Gimzewski, gave insightful lectures about nanotechnology. Prior to this week, I did not have a very good understanding of what nanotechnology is. In fact, I thought it was merely a form of technology that focused on small products, such as circuits and microchips. Therefore, I was shocked to find that nanotechnology actually deals with systems that are as small as 100 nanometers. I was even more surprised to discover that nanotechnology products, such as nano-particles in sportswear, food, and waterproof glass, are present in our daily lives. Food being injected with nano-particles to provide essential nutrients for humans One nanotechnology product that I found most interesting was interactive personalized food. Companies have found ways to nano-encapsulate vitamins into food, which provide essential nutrients for humans. Using this exact concept, nanotechnolo

Scott Huh DESMA 9 Week 7: Neuroscience + Art

When I was watching the lecture videos, especially the part about cocaine and LSD, I was intrigued by Dr. Hoffman and his many experiments with LSD. In the video, Vesna describes his “trip” as seeing “unprecedented colors and plays of shapes that persisted behind [his] closed eyes. Kaleidoscopic, fantastic images surged on [him] alternating, opening, and closing themselves in circles.” Although the images shown in the lecture videos were colorful and very artsy, I did not see how the use of these drugs contributes to art. Further researching this topic on my own, I was surprised to find countless artists have experimented with the effect of LSD on their work. For example, an artist drew self-portraits over the course of 9 hours while on 200 micrograms of LSD, which is 8 times the dose that Vesna considered “enough”. The picture on the left is her drawing after 15 minutes, and the one on the right is after 6 hours and 45 minutes. LSD changed this person’s perspectives by allowi

Scott Huh DESMA 9 Week 6: Biotechnology and Art

Being raised by religious parents, I was somewhat familiar with the ongoing controversy in the field of biotechnology and nanotechnology. One of the reasons for this controversy, as Vesna states, is because “artists are actually meddling with the genetic structures of natural systems.” Up until this week’s lecture, I was indifferent about the ethical dilemma involved in this topic. In my opinion, there is a major different between artists and scientists experimenting with the general structures of living organisms. Scientists in this field have experimented with things such as transgenic rats using glowing jellyfish genes. Osamu Shimomura was the first person to inject these genes into mice for research purposes. These mice served as animal models “for studying biological processes and diseases that luminescent jellyfish genes can be used to tag certain genes or proteins.” According to High, genetically manipulated animals are promising tools. This type of genetic modification

Scott Huh DESMA 9 Event 2: Mnemoawari

Group photo with E. Joteva. I'm the guy wearing glasses Contents of mnemoawari Joteva's cryo-sculpture melting into a pan This week I attended the mnemoawari exhibit by E. Joteva. The exhibit consisted of three spherical cryo-sculptures coated with plants and flowers, which were accompanied by calm music and sound effects of water drops. The sculptures were suspended from the ceiling, slowly melting and dripping into a pan, which released “their entropic potential into virtual and material memory.” The sculptures had great aesthetic pleasure, but I had no idea what these sculptures represented. However, the messages became very clear once Joteva began to talk about being aware of changes going on in our lives. She commented that these sculptures would inevitably melt away, leaving nothing but a bucket full of water and leaves. Therefore, the question was: should she stop them from melting and intervene with the transformation process? It became clear that