Art, science and lots of curiosity

"What connects art and science is human curiosity and imagination," says Claudia Sobich, public relations officer for the Collaborative Research Center, who had the idea for the project. She invited art students from the Kunstschule Wandsbek to come to the University of Bremen and get involved with  the CRC in an unconventional undertaking. How do students from a non-related discipline view the scientific work of the CRC? What ideas and analogies come to their minds, and how would they describe them? Together with Ingo Wiegand, a lecturer for experimental design at the Wandsbek art school, they developed a thematic framework they call  "Adding System to Coincidence".
Coincidence and system

"This basically sums up what we want to achieve with the development of our novel 'colored states' method," says Professor Lutz Mädler, spokesman for the CRC. Despite the existence of high-performance computers, materials research still relies on the long-established principle of trial and error. This type of research is laborious and must be experience-based. Coincidence has little chance here. In order to be able to meet the increasingly complex requirements placed on modern materials, the CRC is working on a new method in which metallic micro samples are submitted to high-throughput tests. This fast and efficient process and the special formula aimed at calculating the properties of the tested materials should make coincidence quasi predictable.

The students from the art school were inspired by this scientific process. They have subsequently created some interactive exhibits and installations, all of which are related to the CRC’s research and yet provide a very unique perspective on the subject of coincidence and system.

Action day and exhibition

At which interfaces and in which spaces can science be communicated? In the course of this unusual project, new ways are being tried out. "From 2 to 6 p.m. on June 2, we will present ourselves at the Hanseatenhof to the people of Bremen with our research and the exhibits developed by the artists – and we are curious to see what resonance we will receive," says Lutz Mädler, already looking forward to the day. The exhibits – that include a light installation, Chladni sound patterns and a conclusion room – will invite visitors to reflect, try out and ask questions. Following CRC action day, the exhibition moves to the citylab for the month of June (formerly Lloydhof, citylab-bremen.de).

The project is funded by the University of Bremen Foundation.

About the CRC 1232 "Colored States"

The Collaborative Research Center 1232 "From Colored States to Evolutionary Construction Materials" at the University of Bremen is a cross-institute interdisciplinary research network. It is developing a novel experimental method of materials development. The overall objective is to efficiently and purposefully find compositions and process chains for new metallic construction materials that meet a specific requirement profile. The CRC 1232 was established in 2016 and is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). More than 50 scientists from the fields of production engineering, process engineering, materials engineering, mathematics and computer science conduct interdisciplinary research here.

About the Wandsbek art school in Bremen

The Kunstschule Wandsbek is a vocational school for communication design in Bremen and Hamburg. The approx. 220 students in Bremen learn their future profession in seven semesters that encompass a broad design spectrum. Classroom activities are frequently augmented with project-oriented work, such as exhibitions of the group "Young Blood" in the Weserburg or the voluntary support of advertising measures for non-profit organizations.

More information under:

https://www.uni-bremen.de/farbige-zustaende/%C3%B6ffentlichkeit-presse/dem-zufall-system-geben.html
www.sfb1232.de
www.kunstschule-wandsbek.de
www.uni-bremen.de

If you would like to know more about this topic, feel free to contact:

Claudia Sobich
Sonderforschungsbereich „Farbige Zustände“
Öffentlichkeitsarbeit/Wissenschaftskommunikation
Tel.: +49 421 218 51232
E-Mail: wikoprotect me ?!sfb1232protect me ?!.de

Ingo Wiegand
Kunstschule Wandsbek, Bremen
Dozent Visuelle Kommunikation
Tel.: +49 160 91643528
E-Mail: i.wiegandprotect me ?!kw-bremenprotect me ?!.de