[Maths-Education] Maths-Art Seminar at London Knowledge Lab: September 9, Mark J Stock, "The influence of vortexes"

[Phillip Kent]

Our seminar programme for 2010-2011 starts next week. The usual
seminar slot is the SECOND THURSDAY OF EACH MONTH **NB this is a change
from previous years** Time remains the same, 6.00pm to 7.30pm.

September is a bumper month as we are delighted to be able to invite
Michael Field (who gave our very first maths-art seminar in 2005)
to give an additional seminar on 16 September.

# 9 September [regular seminar]: Mark J. Stock, "The Influence of Vortexes"

# 16 September [extra seminar]: Michael Field, "The Art and Mathematics of
Chaos - and how chaos can be (usefully) visualised" 

Subsequent regular seminar dates: October 14, November 11, December 9,
January 13, February 10, March 10, April 14, May 12, June 9.

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THE INFLUENCE OF VORTEXES

An LKL Maths-Art seminar by Mark J. Stock

Mark J. Stock is one in a long line of artists who has adapted emerging concepts and technologies from 
the field of fluid dynamics in order to understand the functions and movements of these phenomena through 
ephemeral media. He is drawn to the shapes, forms, and patterns of the flow of liquids and gases, collectively 
called “fluids.” The formulas that describe fluid dynamics are straightforward, and originate with the 
mathematical description of the motion of individual molecules. Because these formulae are well-understood, 
they can be solved numerically on a computer. One method utilised to solve these equations consists of treating 
the fluid as small, individual particles of circulation (vortexes), each with a simple set of interaction rules. 
Each particle is given a position and properties, and then the algorithm evolves them in space and time.

Through this method, he is able to digitally mimic nature's tendency toward emergent phenomena. The end result
is a digital description of the motion of a fluid, minus the extra perceptive clues that exist in nature. This 
presentation will cover these essential equations, the inspiration for using them, and the process he uses to 
create images of their isolated influence.

MARK J. STOCK  is an artist, programmer, and scientist working in the space between visualisation, 
new media art, computational physics, and supercomputing. His work depicts scenes from the hidden world
of fluid dynamics, and is created with custom software developed over the course of his scientific research. 
He was born in Michigan, USA, in 1973 and got his PhD in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Michigan 
in 2006. He has been producing art since 2000 and has had work in dozens of curated and juried exhibitions 
since 2002, including Ars Electronica and six SIGGRAPH Art Galleries. He currently lives in the Boston area 
and works for a small scientific research company in California.

DATE: Thursday 9th September
TIME: 6.00 to 7.30pm
PLACE: London Knowledge Lab, 23-29 Emerald St, London, WC1N 3QS
[Travel information & maps at: http://bit.ly/LKL-MathsArt-venue ]

All welcome. No reservation required, but an email to
lkl.maths.art at gmail.com is appreciated for planning purposes

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*Visit the website and seminar archive:
http://www.lkl.ac.uk/events/maths-art
*Join the email list for future seminar announcements:
http://www.dcs.bbk.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/lkl-maths-art


 


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Dr Phillip Kent, Visiting Fellow, London Knowledge Lab
p.kent at ioe.ac.uk   phillip.kent at gmail.com 
www.phillipkent.net    m: 07950 952034
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