Art+Science
Motivation
The traditional public conception sees science as based on precise calculations, measurements and evidence. Although it is certainly true, scientific research also requires creativity and unique viewpoints not only for solving problems but also to create tools enabling the solution and for communicating scientific discoveries. On a daily basis scientists are required to be good writers when publishing in academic journals, skilled graphic designers when creating graphs, and engaging speakers when presenting their work at conferences and public talks. But first of all astronomers, like everyone else, appreciate beauty, and that is why we study the most mysterious of all - the Universe itself. I like to look at my job through the lens of art and take all opportunities when I can to make it beautiful and fun.
Einstein's Sonata
The main idea behind the project consists in transforming maps of the Milky Way as seen by the future LISA space mission into musical and visual performance. My models of gravitational waves signals emitted by binary white dwarfs detectable with LISA has been reworked by researcher and composer Andrea Valle with dedicated softwares and algorithms, that weaved his composition through a system of symbolic notation that is interpreted in the performance by pianist Luca Ieracitano. Einstein’s Sonata is meant to be presented both as a live piano accompanied by a visual interpretation conceived by Samantha Stella.
The live premiere has now been confirmed for 29 October 2021 as part of the Genoa Science Festival.
The musical piece at the base of Einstein's Sonata, Periplo del latte, can be listened and downloaded including the musical score on bandcamp/andreavalle/periplo-del-latte
The Human Computer
Since 2021 I began a voluntary contribution to QUATERNION BOOKS, a small company that creates books to disseminate scientific knowledge and dedicates part of the revenue to fund projects promoting diversity and inclusion in the STEM field. I wrote a commentary aimed at the secondary school level explaining the calculations performed by Katherine Johnson - the leader of NASA’s "human computers" - for the Apollo missions. This project was funded through a Kickstarter campaign and has been publish in November 2021.
If you still want to support this project, you can buy the book in Quaternion online store.