I am a junior in CFA studying art, technology and interactions. While at CMU I was introduced me to the field of New Media Arts, and the different ways that code can be used as a tool to produce new types of works. Right now, I am spending my semester experimenting mainly with physical interactions, I’m taking classes in physical computing, robotics for creative practice, open sculpture, and physical construction through solid works and laser cutting, as well as a class in experimental game design.

I recently spent the summer interning with new media artists Taeyoon Choi, Tega Brain, and Surya Mattu. This introduced me to new ways of thinking, and to new ways that coding can be utilized. I also helped teach middle schoolers how to tell stories through P5.js, HTML, and CSS.

Some projects that i’ve done in the past are Webcam Drawing, which was designed and implemented using python with opencv. This drawing application takes in live data from a video feed of your desk surface. It tracks a designated pen and uses it to draw in real time on the digital canvas. You can also draw digitally, and create looping animations. Another one was Modular People, which were modular, jointed, people coded through OpenSCAD and printed through the MakerBot Replicator 2. This is a customization construction kit with changeable limb lengths, body width, and height. All the joints are the same size which allows construction of non humanoid entities and varying structures. All forms are constructed through additive and subtractive geometric shapes to form a human-like figure

I’m interested in further contrasting digital and physical objects and how we interact differently with each, as well as the inherent differences between real life and the digital realm.

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I am a second year architecture student at Carnegie Mellon University, pursuing a five-year B.Arch. I have specific interests in intelligent environments, reactive media in architecture, and sustainable low cost building. I am fascinated by the cutting edge intersection of architecture and technology, and how they work together to improve not only building performance, but human experience and spatial quality. Through class and work experience I intend to develop a hybrid style that fuses this technological interest with my respect and value for historical precedent and formal architectural theory.

I have worked on a full set of multi-media projects from video editing to identity design to construction. I’ve operated as the videographer for the school of architecture for nearly a year, capturing, editing, and curating our phenomenal lecture series. I have a position on the school tech crew live mixing audio and helping set up/take down sets. Recently I worked as a TA for the pre-college architecture program at CMU, a job which utilized another one of my passions: Teaching. For the past 4 months I’ve been working as the identity designer for the 2017 wats:ON? Festival, creating a logo, posters, and other branding materials. As the school year starts I am starting another project with Ultra Low Res Studios, working on a reactive light and form installation that will go into Wean Hall this fall.

In my artistic process I try to iterate as much as possible. I find it crucial to have an objective eye and be able to see your work without attachment, even if that means ripping it up to start over again. My cultural background is German, and I think I take many of my sensibilities from my time there. Be it the work ethic and production focus, or the environmental consciousness and deep appreciation for place, I have deep respect for such an approach to life.

I have a background in music as well, playing multiple instruments, and appreciating many more that I cannot. Going forward I am interested in pursuing ways where I can bring sensibilities from music into my art and architecture. I believe a great deal of creative potential lies in the intersection of fields; a belief that will hopefully lead me down many fascinating interdisciplinary paths.

For me, placing unique mediums in a new context is a way to understand information from a new perspective. One of my favorite projects used wax and light-sensitive PLA filament to visualize the thermodynamic information of a space. My work allows me to translate and share my interpretation of the world with others. These translated experiences harness new understandings of unexplainable phenomena.

I also enjoy conceptualizing environments that navigate between digital and physical spaces. This work involves redefining interactions between people and the micro-interactions we have with the material world. I am excited to begin learning how to translate my concepts into working physical realities. My other favorite mediums include glassblowing, screen printing, bookmaking, pastel / charcoal and oil paint.

I’m used to solving problems; it is what I have been trained in. I am currently in my 3rd year studying Materials Science and Engineering with an additional major in Biomedical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. This training has me approach problems in a highly mechanical and logical manner. My scientific training and my tendency to dream can lead to the creation of innovative and functional work.

I want to use my work to make concepts, experiences, and emotions that might be hard to grasp accessible to as many people as possible. This is reflected in most ideas that I have. I enjoy finding innovative ways to complex scientific ideas to people. I want this to be a central theme in a lot of my work. I think physical and tangible representations of things we read in books can be quite powerful. I have been quite interested in modeling physical systems for a long time. This summer, some of my work at a Cancer Nanotechnology lab was modeling the interactions of nanoparticles with the tumor cells. I am interested in creating an interactive physical model that physically represent various computational techniques used in Materials Science.

My relationship with music has been quite different from the one I share with my academic training. It is one that is more full of feeling and familiarity than technicality and theory. I like exploring different sounds through voice and different instruments. I am interested in using my work to explore different mediums of experiencing music. Something I have begun to explore recently is creating a robust technology that allows people with hearing impairments to experience music. While this work is still in a prototyping phase, I have gained some experience in working with electrical systems.

I want to use the diversity of expertise in Carnegie Mellon’s environment to collaborate and realize ideas that can make the world a slightly better place.

As for interests in Art, I have been mainly working on 2D Media painting, drawing, story-boarding, animating, and 3D Animating. After years of being inspired by numerous animated works from Disney, Pixar, Miyazaki Hayao, Shinkai Makoto and Hosoda Mamoru I aim to pursue my love for the art of story-telling in hopes to find the most organic, and original way for me to communicate stories. In my sophomore year, I have participated in an animation project with my classmates outside of class: For a children’s opera song of the traditional “The Little Mermaid (Rusalka)”, I took the responsibility of story-boarding, designing props and characters, and animate them. As to further train and develop ways of story-telling through digital art, I have studied abroad in Tokyo Polytechnic University over the Spring semester 2017, and took courses on not only animation production and the social history of animation, but also received an introduction to interactive media with rudimentary-level approach on physical computing. I have also used Python and Java language to develop my individual project on utilizing a X-box Kinect’s camera to manipulate human body coordinates to create a 3D-space sketching simulator.

Having to explore multiple ways of making Art, I am now aiming to develop art projects that convey meaningful messages to the audience, using the techniques I have grasped. Nowadays, I am wishing to spread the messages of compassion for people, the environment, energy internationally and efficiently, with the artworks I create.

This summer I worked as Deeplocal as an electrical and computer engineering intern. I really enjoyed being able to have an impact on the design process while helping with the engineering behind rapidly prototyped projects. Over the past couple of semesters I have tried to work on projects that combine my interests in technology and design. Last semester, I worked on the Twitter Trump Projector, which combined natural language processing and physical form to create a data visualization that combined public opinions of Trumps actions with their ramifications. I appreciated being able to use technology, rapid prototyping and crowd-sourced input to create a complete installation. The semester before that, I worked on a booklet that chronicled the feelings of multiple women engineers with respect to being a minority in their chosen profession.

I believe in ubiquitous computing which is the idea that computing should be accessible at any time and at any point. In the future, I want to be working on technology that supplements people’s lives subconsciously by making technology intuitive and accessible. I am also really interested in making everything an interface to the digital realm.
By working on wearables and IOT, I think we are moving toward a future where the integration between the physical and digital worlds will be seamless. I would love to spearhead that movement by working with artists, engineers, designers and writers. Tim Brown once said,
“Some say the world is divided into humanities people and science people; artists and geeks; intuitive types and analytical types. You’re either one or the other, and our culture, education system, workplaces and news media do their level best to reinforce this divide. But throughout history, it’s been proven over and again that if you want to be truly innovative, reaching across the divide between the sciences and the arts is the starting point for triggering the boldest ideas.”
And I try to live my life by perpetually reaching across this divide.

I am a senior from Bangalore, India, currently studying Electrical and Computer Engineering, with a focus on embedded systems. Right now I’m learning about how designs influence human experiences, circuits and network security. I’m interested in wearable technology and IOT devices. On campus, I’m on the executive board for 1000plus, a service organization that organizes a day of service that allows Carnegie Mellon students to give back to the community.

This summer I worked as Deeplocal as an electrical and computer engineering intern. I really enjoyed being able to have an impact on the design process while helping with the engineering behind rapidly prototyped projects. Over the past couple of semesters I have tried to work on projects that combine my interests in technology and design. Last semester, I worked on the Twitter Trump Projector, which combined natural language processing and physical form to create a data visualization that combined public opinions of Trumps actions with their ramifications. I appreciated being able to use technology, rapid prototyping and crowd-sourced input to create a complete installation. The semester before that, I worked on a booklet that chronicled the feelings of multiple women engineers with respect to being a minority in their chosen profession.

I believe in ubiquitous computing which is the idea that computing should be accessible at any time and at any point. In the future, I want to be working on technology that supplements people’s lives subconsciously by making technology intuitive and accessible. I am also really interested in making everything an interface to the digital realm.
By working on wearables and IOT, I think we are moving toward a future where the integration between the physical and digital worlds will be seamless. I would love to spearhead that movement by working with artists, engineers, designers and writers. Tim Brown once said,
“Some say the world is divided into humanities people and science people; artists and geeks; intuitive types and analytical types. You’re either one or the other, and our culture, education system, workplaces and news media do their level best to reinforce this divide. But throughout history, it’s been proven over and again that if you want to be truly innovative, reaching across the divide between the sciences and the arts is the starting point for triggering the boldest ideas.”
And I try to live my life by perpetually reaching across this divide.

For the past year, I have been involved in several organizations on campus. I worked as Head Mechanic in CIA buggy, and manufacturer in Carnegie Mellon University’s Formula Racing team. I am also involved in Atlas – a self driving buggy project within CIA buggy. These experiences have taught me valuable lessons in circuits, sensors, data collection, and troubleshooting.

My experience have changed my view towards the relationship between art and science. Shifting from “art is art, science is science” to “art and science is not complete without one and another”. The shift have inspired me to consider more of the design aspect in my engineering project. This have inspired my work on the “Design for the Better” project. Where I take pictures and interview from people while they are working with tools and machinery about what they don’t like about the product. I am planning on expanding the project into try to come up with ideas to improve the product by non-engineering aspects, like from a design perspective.

In my spare time, I like drawing and sketching, cooking, photography, and playing instruments. I started my bagpipe lesson in my freshman year, and violin lessons last year. And I also used to play piano before going to college. I believe, all of my hobbies and experience can turn into something valuable to me and others when I slowly mesh them into my work. In my freshman spring, me and three of my friends designed and prototyped a programmable music box for the annual Build 18 competition. This project have inspired me to explore and work more on projects that combines art and engineering.

DIY screen printing was the start of my realizations into this type of problem solving: how do the tools affect the outcome? Specifically, how does silkscreen mesh size affect the printed ink? My past work focused on the dynamic qualities of the print medium. The series explored layers of screen printed glass to create imagery that shifts with a viewer’s perspective.

The misconception of 2D ink has lead to many millions of magnificent artworks for centuries, and the influenced my work as a poster designer. A study of microscopic screen print inks revealed the volume of the two-dimensional medium. Researching screen printing at the micro-scale has lead to exploring ink properties. My current work focuses on screen printing with conductive, illuminative, and functional inks. Placing functional inks in close proximity to each other can expose previously unseen properties.

My most recent print project directly leads me to a motivating question of scale: when a person builds a project, is the result artificial? If spiders are part of the natural world, is their web, attached to trees, an extent of a natural process? How did the spider learn to build its web? What are the spider’s tools? If a person discovers functional properties of a material, then places that material in context of other materials, is that material similar to a spider’s web?

My name is Selena Norman. I am a senior product design major who has a love for all things colorful and quirky. My passion is functional design; things that play with the systems needed to support a human experience. I always find that the relationships formed between ‘human and object’ are real and reflective of something more than design, a tangible connection. I like to think of design as both the push and pull between the beauty of form and the need for function as well as how one can walk that fine line without tipping over to one side or the other.

What resonates with me is the way design can embed itself. When I share an experience with something inanimate, I have entered into a space that is completely unique. Good design is something that makes me think, makes me wonder, makes me recognize where I stand in reality. When I design something, it allows me to bring the user to a foreign place of unique enjoyment; a state of interaction between user and product. There is beauty in creating small moments that can subconsciously follow you through your day. I live for those small moments in my practice.
My interests outside of design range from collecting unique vintage pieces of furniture, jewelry and clothing to fluid sports such as dance and diving. In my younger years I competed in gymnastics. I find the nuances that present themselves within my athletic practices speak volumes on how the human body subconsciously shapes presentation. The tilt of the chin or the flick of a wrist at the end of a dismount are all forms of artistry, despite where they originate. I plan to let my hobbies and diverse interests support my love for the small things in life and propel me towards the design career I desire.

In the past I have done projects heavy in tangible production whether that is woodworking, foam modeling, 3d printing, or laser cutting. I have found a sense of peace that can be overpowering when it’s just you and the object growing together through the production process. Sanding for hours watching something come from the simple pressure of ones hands is rewarding in and of itself. The next frontier is how can I meet the life that form can exude and pair that with the interactions the come with physical computing.