In some cool, exciting news, I can now formally announce the fruition of a project that I’ve been helping put together for some time, led by my colleague, UCSD professor Sheldon Brown.
The University of California, San Diego and the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation have agreed to establish the Arthur C. Clarke Center for Human Imagination (ACCCHI) at UCSD. The
agreement was signed in conjunction with the Clarke Foundation’s annual
international Clarke Awards held on April 12 in Washington, D.C.What intrigued me most about Arthur's work was his ongoing fascination with human destiny. See my personal tribute to Arthur C. Clarke.
The
Clarke Center will foster collaborations among institutions and
individuals across a wide range of communities and continents in fields
such as technology, education, engineering, health, science, industry,
environment, entertainment and the arts.
In
addition to being celebrated for his multidisciplinary legacy in
science and engineering, Arthur C. Clarke is considered one of the most
inspiring and engaging science fiction writers of all time for such
classics as Childhood’s End, Rendezvous with Rama and 2001: A Space Odyssey. His visionary books and papers have fueled the imagination and avocations of young and old for more than six decades.“The Clarke Center will be a focal point for active collaboration on current and future research and an intersection of disciplines for the purpose of identifying and advancing creative and innovative solutions for the challenges of contemporary and future societies,” said UCSD Vice Chancellor Sandra Brown.
UCSD is also known as the university
campus that has engendered more scientifically-oriented science fiction
authors, among its graduates, than any other in the world. Former
chancellor Dynes once ventured "it must be something in the water..."The New Modernism: Blending Science, Engineering, Art and Human Imagination: Here's the text of the speech I gave at the opening of UCSD's new Structural and Materials Engineering Building, where the Clarke Center will find its new home -- a place where collaboration, innovation, and flow between cultures is not only allowed...but encouraged.
The Clarke Center will address questions such as...
--Where does the fantastic gift of imagination come from?
--How can it be taught and nurtured?
--Can we simultaneously unleash imagination with greater freedom, yet better harness it to individual and human needs?
--How can we develop the art of prediction to become a useful art or science?
Learn more about the Arthur C. Clarke Center for HumanImagination at http://imagination.ucsd.edu
== NASA's NIAC explores new concepts ==
And while we're on the subject of scientifically grounded imagination and innovation......I thought you'd all like this article about the NASA Innovative and Advance Concepts Program Spring Symposium I attended recently in Pasadena -- featuring some of the stunning ideas receiving small stimulation grants from NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts (NAIC) program. Oh there are still great ideas. Now to restore the confidence and ambition of a scientific civilization: Is NASA Boring? Not A Chance!
As a member of the NIAC advisory board, I help appraise these cutting edge new ideas. Here are just a few that I can share with you.
JPL Explores Sending CubeSats to PhobosPrinting entire buildings, even in space: The Case for Contour Crafting
Electrostatic Active Space Radiation Shielding For Deep Space Missions
Radiation Shielding Materials Containing Hydrogen Boron and Nitrogen
Using Lasers as Tractor Beams
Heat Shields Made From Dirt? Ice Powered Machines?
==More Science Fiction==
With the recent public release of the 1940 census data online, popular interest surged. But what questions will be asked on the year 2080 census forms? Like what is your current sex? Fun article.
For even more far-out ideas? See the brand new Publisher’s Weekly preview recommendation (pick-of-the-week for the entire U.S. publishing industry) for Existence.
And... riffing off of that theme... searching of other places to live and work in the cosmos... we just watched the film Another Earth
on DVD. I knew it was 95% a tear-jerker or “chick-flick” and only 5%
about the sudden appearance of a duplicate to our planet, visible from
here and rapidly approaching. The science-fictional elements were there
- and somewhat contorted - in service to the inter-personal,
angst-driven drama of a girl whose great prospects are dashed by a
moment’s foolishness -- and she must deal with guilt and redemption as
the giant blue framing device gets ever closer to her world.Having said all that, we found it intelligent, moving, tense, rewarding... and not at all offensive as sci fi. Oh, do crank down your sf’nal dials! Some things are preposterous... while others are cleverly explained or played out. Worthwhile, including the cool ending.
