BETA Competition

In 2006 I created and hosted WSU’s BETA competition. BETA is an acronym for Bridging Entrepreneurship, Technology, and the Arts; the BETA Competition encouraged WSU students and teams to develop entrepreneurial ideas which connected the arts with technology. Entries were judged on their innovation, feasibility, and scope. We offered over $7,000 total in prizes for the winning entries.

BETA’s judges, a dozen engineering, art and business leaders, evaluated the finalists of the competition in April 2006. The finalists gave presentations at the Ulrich Museum of Art in a trade-show format. At that time judges also gave applicants valuable feedback on feasibility, marketability, and artistic merit.

WSU’s BETA competition included a mentor program where teams of students could elect to work with a local business, technology, or art leaders to develop and refine their ideas as they prepared for the competition. Besides awarding cash prices one winning idea, a video synthesizer by Steve Wilson, was sponsored for further development — construction of a working prototype and a full business plan.

Strings, Kansas!

In fall 2006 I launched an initiative at WSU called Strings, Kansas! A distance-learning-enhanced program, Strings, Kansas! connected WSU School of Music string students with 4th and 5th graders in communities without string programs. WSU string students created, designed, and implemented the curriculum for the 4th and 5th graders.

SoundBlocks

SoundBlocks is a tangible environment where youth connect blocks to describe network dataflow. The environment explores digital sound manipulation as a personal, meaningful and fun artistic endeavor, rather than as a venture into mathematical, electronic or networking relationships.

Digital Puppetry

I worked with a team of colleagues, community members, and urban youth. Our intention was to help the youth learn in a playful environment, find personal self-expression, and have their voices heard by communities in Boston. To do this, we adapted commercially available technology to provide a unique medium: digital puppetry.

Minigolf at Figment in New York

As a faculty member Wichita State University’s College of Engineering (WSU), I worked with students to create and install a mini-golf hole as part of FIGMENT at Governor’s Island, NY in 2010. I also gave the keynote address that year for FIGMENT’s public art opening. WSU’s mini-golf hole was chosen from a juried selection. Our…

Introduction to Audio and Video Synthesis

I taught a course called Introduction to Audio and Video Synthesis which introduced a variety of classic synthesis techniques, digital signal processing, and audio production. Additionally, students were exposed to important class and contemporary electronic works.

Technology: Art and Sound by Design

From 2006 through 2009 I taught Technology: Art and Sound by Design (TASD). In the course, Engineering and Art students explored new media art: they built circuits and interfaced them to computers. Final projects were installed in a local art gallery.

BETA Competition

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