Category Archives: News

BSc Digital Arts Computing, Careers, Inspiration, News, Uncategorized, Women in Computing

Not all bad for #womenintech

Ada Lovelace
image: Ada Lovelace

‘There aren’t enough messages to young women that technology is a fascinating area to work in, a fast-moving field, one that rewards hard work, an area where you really can change the world’ (Naomi Alderman, The Guardian, 

The media has been rife with stories lately about women in technology, or rather the lack of them. According e-skills, the number of women working in the tech sector has fallen from 17% to 16% in 2014.

There are numerous initiatives to increase the number of women in the sector from the classroom to big business, yet in the last ten years the number of women in key roles in the technology industry has remained roughly unchanged.

Yet despite the statistics there are causes for celebration. We have very recently celebrated Ada Lovelace Day, who at the start of it all – working in the 1800’s – produced the first algorithm intended to be carried out by a machine. Because of this, she is often described as the world’s first computer programmer…a woman!

In April this year, the US appointed a female chief technology officer which is inspiring women across the country to break the gender bias in the tech industry. Megan Smith was previously a vice president of Google[x] at Google. Smith has been one of the country’s leading advocates in the movement to get more women into tech jobs*.
(*http://www.wired.com/2014/09/megan-smith-cto/?mbid=social_twitter )

Closer to home, the BSc in Digital Arts Computing course at Goldsmiths has defied the odds and attracted a 65% female cohort this year. A key element of this programme is that it integrates technical programming skills, theoretical and historical conceptions of art into a distinctively computational arts practice. The programme is taught in an integrated way, with a mix of critical studies and computational arts practice elements across both the Art and Computing departments.

We still have a long way to go, but rather than looking at cold statistics, lets focus on the positive stories and inspire the next generation of women programmers.

#womenintech

 

Inspiration, News, Videos

The Secrets of the Antikythera Mechanism

 

aMore than a hundred years ago an extraordinary mechanism was found by sponge divers at the bottom of the sea near the island of Antikythera. It astonished the whole international community of experts on the ancient world. Was it an astrolabe? Was it an orrery or an astronomical clock? Or something else?

Research over the last half century has begun to reveal its secrets. The machine dates from around the end of the 2nd century B.C. and is the most sophisticated mechanism known from the ancient world. Nothing as complex is known for the next thousand years. The Antikythera Mechanism is now understood to be dedicated to astronomical phenomena and operates as a complex mechanical computer which tracks the cycles of the Solar System.

1412889651964_wps_21_WHOI_Diving_Safety_Office

Renewed interest in the ‘Antikythera Mechanism’ aka the worlds ‘first computer’ has been abound in the world’s media due to the recent return of archaeologists to the Antikythera dive site where it was originally found.

We are very lucky here at Goldsmiths to have Prof Xenophon Moussas from the University of Athens give a talk and demonstration about the workings of the ‘Mechanism’ right here at Goldsmiths on Tuesday.

EVENT INFO:

‘The Secrets of the Antikythera Mechanism’, Prof Xenophon Moussas, University of Athens

Tuesday, October 21st 2014
Ben Pimlott Lecture Theatre Goldsmiths, University of London
Talk: 5:30 – 6:30pm
Exhibition open: 5:00 – 7:00pm
Drinks and exhibition viewing: 6:00 – 7:00pm

Eventbrite - The secrets of the Antikythera Mechanism: Prof Xenophon Moussas, University of Athens

Events, Inspiration, MA/MFA Computational Art, News, Staff profiles and activity

Organic Systems at The Natural History Museum

gemma_anderson

Image: Isomorphogenesis No.3 by Gemma Anderson

William Latham and Gemma Anderson are facilitating an ‘Organic Systems’ Drawing workshop at The Natural History museum as part of ‘The Big Draw’ – the world’s biggest drawing festival.

This is a rare opportunity to get hands on experience of the Natural History Museum’s collections to gain insight into evolutionary processes through drawing.

The event will take place on Sunday 19th October from 11am.

Latham  began his career studying Printmaking at the Royal College of Art (1983-1985) where he developed the ‘FormSynth’ method. He then worked as Artist in Residence with IBM between 1987-1993 which led to the ongoing ‘Mutator’ project http://latham-mutator.com and is currently Professor of Art and Games at Goldsmiths University of London.

Anderson also studied Printmaking at the RCA (2005-2007) and has been working in collaboration with scientists at the Natural History Museum and Imperial College​ since 2006​. She is currently Associate Lecturer of Drawing at Falmouth University, where she is also completing her practice based PhD (2011-2015) www.gemma-anderson.co.uk.
Anderson has adapted Latham’s rule based (algorithm) evolutionary drawing method ‘FormSynth’ to create ‘Isomorphogenesis’ an extended Organic Systems drawing process, which relates directly to the Natural History Museum’s collections. In this workshop Latham and Anderson will share their experimental drawing methods, which perform an analogue to morphogenesis.

Inspiration, MSc Computer games and Entertainment, News, Staff profiles and activity, Videos

Andy Lomas and Patrick Tresset award winners @ The Lumen Prize!

Cellular Forms ~ Andy Lomas

Andy Lomas, Head of Computer Graphics at Framestore is the winner of Lumen Prize Gold for ‘Cellular Forms’. Andy regularly gives lectures and seminars at Goldsmiths and will be included in the ‘Creative Machine’ exhibition opening on 6th November 2014.

Patrick Tresset a visiting research fellow at Goldsmiths also obtained 3rd prize with his project ‘5 Robots Named Paul’.

Inspiration, News, Staff profiles and activity

Smart Slums?

1-Kibera Slum

Our very own Dr Dan McQuillan has written an article for the Guardian’s  Cities in development series about the discussion around ‘Smart Slums’.

The article raises important questions around some of the negative impacts of ICT4D; and that a push for ‘smart slums’ could be appropriated for social justice.

This in-depth article talks through alternative approaches currently being tested through ‘bottom-up citizen science’ which involve ‘citizens in using embedded sensor technology to answer their own questions about their environments.’

Follow @danmcquillan on Twitter.


Inspiration, News, Publications, Students, Women in Computing

Baroesque Barometric Skirt


PhD candidate Rain Ashford at Goldsmiths has developed a ‘smart skirt’ which changes colour in response to environmental temperature, pressure and altitude.

The skirt also changes depending on the wearers own body temperature.

In June 2013 the skirt was presented at Smart Textiles Salon in Ghent, Belgium and has this month been featured in the New Scientist.

Inspiration, News, Staff profiles and activity

Theseus Returned

bish

Mark Bishop’s short story ‘Theseus Returned’ recently made the short list for CyberTalk Magazine’s Flash Fiction Competition.

The story was also published in ‘The Envelope: A Collection of Short Stories’ by Stephen Westland and Helen Disley which is available now on the Kindle.

It will appear in Cybertalk’s printed magazine later in the year.