The Physics and Aesthetics of Light

Architect James Carpenter and physicist Sidney Nagel (University of Chicago, Department of Physics) investigate the physics and aesthetics of light.

New York based architect James Carpenter collaborates with Sidney Nagel (Stein-Freiler Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Physics), to investigate the physics and aesthetics of light.  This fellowship, hosted by the University of Chicago's Department of Physics, The James Franck Institute, and the Enrico Fermi Institute, includes the following components:

  • research trip by Carpenter and Nagel to Greenland to observe low-level light conditions (December 2011);
  • team-taught course for graduate and undergraduate students entitled The Interaction of Light and Matter: Art and Science, run through the Department of Visual Arts and cross-listed in Physics and Theater & Performance Studies (Fall 2012).
  • co-presentation at the School of the Art Institute's Conversations on Art & Science, entitled Illumination (Oct 9, 2012);
  • participation in Fluidity | Rigidity | Adaptability: Frontiers in Pure & Applied Jamming, a workshop and conference at the University of Chicago and Illinois Institute of Technology, October 26-28, 2012;
  • participation in a roundtable hosted by the University of Chicago's Arts/Science Initiative (Nov 8, 2012); and
  • class project presentations and critiques December 6 - 7, 2012.