2007 BEARS Noor/FIAT LUX Open House || UC Berkeley




NOOR/FIAT LUX Open House - Hearst Mining Building
BEARS Home Registration Directions Parking Accommodations Things to Do in Berkeley EECS Research Faculty BEARS 2006 BEARS 2005 BEARS 2004	Fusion of Art, Technology, and Light: Integration of Art, Science, Culture, Life Engineering a better world includes improving the quality of life by applying technology to the integration of art, science, cultures and understanding. We hope that the FIAT LUX project will help to build cultural bridges, and lead to the discovery of some useful new applications. Noor is the Arabic and Farsi word meaning Light. As an initial component of the FIAT LUX research project, we are developing new computer graphics and animation technologies in high definition video, with the goal of bringing into the 21st Century time variants of the classical geometric patterns developed in Middle Eastern cultures, including Arabic,Turkish, Persian, Islamic, Ottoman, Hebrew, and Byzantine, from the 7th to 20th centuries (CE). Applications include large scale LED video light sculptures in architectural settings, creating an Arabic software programming language, educational tools for teaching analytical geometry and mathematics, creaeting a virtual “Alhambra” in cyberspace, and production of a PBS-TV informational program in association with The Smithsonian Institute and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York as part of a touring exhibition of the works. These geometric patterns represent mathematical principles of importance. We also intend to explore their potential applications in CMOS semiconductor devices, nanotech, MEMS, and also their physiological and psychological healing effects. The prototype animation demonstrations shown are just the beginning…. *Steve Beck, Visiting Fellow, College of Engineering, UC Berkeley In collaboration with: Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences Department of Architecture Department of Art Practices Center for Middle Eastern Studies Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology CITRIS Faculty & Staff Collaborators at UC Berkeley: Professor Carlo Séquin, EECS, Principle Investigator Professor Paul Wright, ME, Chief Scientist, CITRIS, Research Associate Professor Nezar Alsayad, Architecture, Chair, CMES, Research Associate Professor Greg Niemeyer, Department of Art Practices, Collaborator Professor Emeritus Dave Hodges, EECS, Advisory Associate Professor Shankar Sastry, Director, CITRIS, Advisory Associate Ihklaq Sidhu, PhD, Director, CET, Advisory Associate Dean A. Richard Newton, Executive Producer in Memoriam Student and Staff Collaborators: Omar Bakr, PhD EECS Student Research Advisory Consultant Dan Chapman, ME, digital animation; Jeremy Huddleston, CS researcher Additional Research Collaborators and Project Consultants:** Professor Howard W. Beck, CS, University of Florida , Gainesville . Dr. Michael Barry, Chairman and Chief Curator, Islamic Arts Collection Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY Theodore Timreck, Producer, PBS-TV, Director of Anthropological Productions The Smithsonian Institute, Washington, DC, and New York, NY Kerry Brougher, Director, The Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum, Washington, DC Rudolf Frieling, Curator, New Media, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Dr, Ahmed Moustafa, Calligraphy Artist, London and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Hugh Davies, PhD, Director, San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art, La Jolla, CA Mitsuhiro Takemura, Media Aesthetician, Tokyo University, Tokyo, Japan Professor Alison Gopnik, Dept. of Psychology, UC Berkeley *Steve Beck is a UC Berkeley EECS Graduate, Electronic Artist and Entrepreneur, and was honored with the Outstanding Alumnus of the Year Award by the Department in 2003. Mr. Beck’s work in video art. music and light sculptures has been recognized with grants from The Rockefeller Foundation, the AFI and NEA; it is also exhibited in collections of The Museum of Modern Art, New York, SFMOMA, The Smithsonian Hirshhorn, The Whitney Museum, and other major art museums and private art collections worldwide. Email Steve Beck www.stevebeck.tv In Kind and General Research Support, 2006-2007: Beck-Tech Corp. Berkeley, CA Additional 2007 Research Gift : Xenel International USA, Westlake Village, CA. No University Funds have been expended or used for this research project. The support of our sponsors is greatly appreciated and acknowledged. Steve Beck is solely responsible for its content. © 2006, 2007 Steve Beck All Rights Reserved. The distinctive “Noor” logo is a trademark of Beck-Tech Corp. This project does not discriminate on any basis, including race, gender, creed, ethnic or national origin.