2026 Humanistic STEM Symposium

Event Format: Hybrid (In-Person + Online via Zoom)

In-Person Location:

Henderson Welcome Center, Duva #2 and #3

Online via Zoom:

All talks will be streamed live via Zoom.

https://erau.zoom.us/j/91410568027

Meeting ID: 914 1056 8027

Info: Creativity and curiosity drive innovation across STEM and artistic domains. This presentation examines conceptual and methodological parallels between scientific inquiry and algorithmic art, emphasizing systems-based thinking, emergence, and exploratory processes. Algorithmic art can be understood as a form of structured experimentation in which complex visual systems emerge from simple rules. Drawing on my background in medical research, I describe how scientific experience and practices extend naturally into generative artistic workflows. Examples of contemporary code-based artists with foundations in mathematics, computer science, statistics, and engineering highlight curiosity-driven system design as a shared mechanism underlying discovery and creative expression across disciplines.

Info: Embry-Riddle alumnus and bestselling science fiction author Joshua Dalzelle explores the dynamic intersection between science and art. Drawing from his aerospace education and career as a novelist, Joshua will discuss how rigorous scientific principles fuel imaginative storytelling—and how vivid fiction, in turn, inspires innovation and wonder in engineering and exploration. This talk will illustrate the creative synergy that bridges technical precision with narrative artistry, reminding us that the future is built as much in the imagination as in the laboratory.

Info: Dr. Frank Summers is an outreach astrophysicist at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. For almost two decades, he has contributed to all aspects of the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescope press, education, and outreach through news media, websites, educational programs, social media, museums and planetariums. His specialty is as an 'astrovizicist,' creating accurate and aesthetic scientific visualizations by combining research computer simulations and Hollywood rendering techniques. His credits include writer, science advisor, and scientific visualization supervisor on the IMAX film Hubble 3D, and a science and script advisor on the IMAX film A Beautiful Planet. He contributed data, science, and visuals to the Academy Award-nominated IMAX film Cosmic Voyage, and directed the IMAX short film Hubble: Galaxies Across Space and Time, winner of the LFCA Best Short Film award (2004)."

Info: ATL Airport Art integrates art into the daily fabric of the Atlanta Airport for the benefit of passengers and employees. The Art program commissions site-specific artwork, produces and curates rotating exhibits, and manages performances and artist programming. With over 1,000 artworks in one of the largest public art sites in the Southeastern U.S., there is plenty to explore.

Info: Master violinmaker Andrew Carruthers has embarked on a creative journey that challenged traditional boundaries in violinmaking. Rather than replicating centuries-old designs, he began crafting a series of experimental instruments that fuse acoustical inquiry with aesthetic exploration. Through radical surface treatments, organic forms inspired by nature, and unconventional constructions, Carruthers investigates how design influences sound while celebrating the robust essence of classic violin architecture. Beyond technical insights, these instruments serve as artistic expressions that invite tactile engagement, spark curiosity, and blur the line between traditional craft and contemporary art.

Info: We will screen the documentary film The MiG-21 Project (27 minutes)
The MiG-21 Project is a 5-year, multidisciplinary project that transforms a 51-foot by 24-foot decommissioned Cold War era, Soviet-designed MiG-21 fighter jet into a stunning work of art, entirely covered in tens of millions of colorful glass beads. The re-imagined jet turns an icon of violence into a symbol of resilience and collaboration.
The documentary will be followed by a recorded conversation with artist Ralph Ziman and his team, discussing the engineering and logistical challenges of creating this work of art and bringing it to the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington.

Info: We will be joined by Cody Othoudt, Exhibits Developer at the Museum of Flight in Seattle to answer questions about the MiG-21 Project and highlight upcoming exhibits at the Museum of Flight.

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Host or Publisher Embry-Riddle Worldwide Campus, College of Arts and Sciences