March 29, 2024

Art of Science, and Princeton Privacy Panel

Today I want to recommend two great things happening at Princeton, one of which is also on the Net.

Princeton’s second annual Art of Science exhibit was unveiled recently, and it’s terrific, just like last year. Here’s some background, from the online exhibit:

In the spring of 2006 we again asked the Princeton University community to submit images—and, for the first time, videos and sounds—produced in the course of research or incorporating tools and concepts from science. Out of nearly 150 entries from 16 departments, we selected 56 works to appear in the 2006 Art of Science exhibition.

The practices of science and art both involve the single-minded pursuit of those moments of discovery when what one perceives suddenly becomes more than the sum of its parts. Each piece in this exhibition is, in its own way, a record of such a moment. They range from the image that validates years of research, to the epiphany of beauty in the trash after a long day at the lab, to a painter’s meditation on the meaning of biological life.

You can view the exhibit online, but the best way to see it is in person, in the main hallway of the Friend Center on the Princeton campus. One of the highlights is outdoors: a fascinating metal object that looks for all the world like a modernist sculpture but was actually built as a prototype winding coil for a giant electromagnet that will control superhot plasma in a fusion energy experiment. (The online photo doesn’t do it justice.)

If you’re on the Princeton campus on Friday afternoon (June 2), you’ll want to see the panel discussion on “Privacy and Security in the Digital Age”, which I’ll be moderating. We have an all-star group of panelists:
* Dave Hitz (Founder, Network Appliance)
* Paul Misener (VP for Global Public Affairs, Amazon)
* Harriet Pearson (Chief Privacy Officer, IBM)
* Brad Smith (Senior VP and General Counsel, Microsoft)
It’s in 006 Friend, just downstairs from the Art of Science exhibit, from 2:00 to 3:00 on Friday.

These panelists are just a few of the distinguished Princeton alumni who will be on campus this weekend for Reunions.