Prof draws on engineering and art knowledge -- By Barbara Elve, Communications & Public Affairs

When University of Waterloo Electrical and Computer Engineering Prof. Rob Gorbet teaches Technology Art Studio — an innovative cross-disciplinary course melding art and technology — he draws not only from his engineering knowledge, but also from his hands-on experience as an artist.

In collaboration with Gorbet Design Inc., a Toronto-based design firm specializing in interactive installations, the multifaceted prof has participated in the creation of a number of high-profile works, including a proposal that was recently selected as winner of the $100,000 Region of Waterloo public art competition for a work that "demonstrates motion energized by solar power."

Rob Gorbet holds a model of "Solar Collector" at the Regional Operations Centre on Maple Grove Road where the sculpture is scheduled to be installed this fall. Photo by Barb Elve, Communications & Public Affairs

Rob worked on the design with his brother, Matt Gorbet, and Matt's partner, Susan Gorbet, founders of Gorbet Design. Matt is an interdisciplinary technologist, researcher and artist with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from MIT and a Master of Science from the MIT Media Lab. Susan is a creative technology designer, researcher and artist with degrees in computer science and psychology. Both Matt and Susan are on the faculty of the Canadian Film Centre's Interactive Art and Entertainment Program, and Susan also teaches at the Ontario College of Art and Design.

Solar Collector, the winning entry, is described by Gorbet Design as "an interactive sculpture that gives form to the graceful angles of the sun and responds to the community and the seasons, coming to life at dusk with flowing waves of light."

The concept was selected by a jury made up of "local art professionals and regional councilors … based on aesthetics, public appeal, uniqueness, longevity and ease of maintenance." A model of Solar Collector — along with those of three other finalists — was on display last winter for public comment. It will be installed at the Regional Operations Centre on Maple Grove Road at the north edge of Cambridge.

The sculpture comprises 12 steel shafts, ranging in height from six to 10 metres, projecting out of the grassy knoll at the entrance to the Regional Operations Centre. Arranged on a curve sweeping down around the slope of the hill, the shafts get progressively shorter and project at decreasing angles to the ground, creating a graceful form along the roadside.

The installation takes into account the changing solar zenith angles over the course of a year, with the 12 shafts "mapped to each fortnightly solar zenith angle between the winter and summer solstices. The relationship between these angles forms a sine curve, being a visual indication of the earth's tilt and orbit around the sun, and therefore the sun's movement through the sky."

Special solar cells are unobtrusively fixed to each shaft, and collect solar energy into a battery housed in the shaft. After collecting solar energy during the day, the sculpture produces a performance at dusk, with LED lights — set at intervals along the shafts — "fading on and off in softly undulating waves and patterns."

Among the challenges faced by the designers was the site where the sculpture will be installed. "It's important that public art fit with the goals of the people commissioning it, and be accessible to the public," says Rob.

Located in a mainly industrial area, with little pedestrian traffic, the site is surrounded by large-scale buildings, lamp posts, trucks and trains. Rob expects the sculpture will be viewed mainly at night  — "a bit like fireworks." While his dream is that the region will eventually "have to build a parking lot for viewers," Rob and his collaborators have, in the meantime, built into the design remote interactivity in an effort to bring the sculpture to the people.

Residents of the region will not only be able to travel to the actual site to watch the show, but can create their own light patterns to become part of the performance via an interactive web site. In that sense, the light show will be "an indication of the natural and human pulse of the region."

The concept of interactivity is important to the work of Gorbet Design. "Interactivity that provokes surprise and delight creates a visceral connection between people and their increasingly technical environment," says the artists' statement for the project. "When people can see their actions reflected in their environment, it increases a sense of personal ownership and caring."

The sculpture will loom above the landscape, with the shafts reaching even higher than the nearby hydro poles. "We've never worked with steel of that magnitude before," admits Rob. The designers also had to deal with "robustness issues, all-season issues," and had to create an installation that would reflect the energy-efficient technology used in the new Emergency Medical Services Fleet Centre building.

Like other projects the trio has tackled, this sculpture was conceived in a series of brainstorming sessions at the dining room table, using coloured toothpicks and a Styrofoam base. "We start with the goals and nature of the commissioning body, the characteristics of the site, and the theme of the commission — in this case solar energy. Then we discuss how we could combine these elements into an appropriate physical form. We develop several designs and argue their merits back and forth," says Rob. "It's a great process, very productive.  Each of us gets attached to aspects of different designs. The end result is the best of all the designs, worked together."

In addition to his contributions to the creative process, Rob designed the solar components and electronics for the installation. Using Spheral Solar Power (SSP) technology — developed by ATS Automation Tooling Systems with the help of researchers such as electrical and computer engineering colleague, Siva Sivoththaman (director of UW's Nanotechnology Engineering Program) — Rob was able to use small flexible solar panels on the shafts of the sculpture rather than have an array of the traditional large black squares mounted off to the side to collect solar energy.

Rob's work with Gorbet Design projects has carried over to the classroom, as well. "These installations give me a really good feel for the students' experience in their fourth-year design projects: taking an idea from concept, through budgeting, design, specification, and on to implementation, in a short time frame," he says. And Solar Collector and P2P — a Gorbet Design installation exhibited at Kitchener City Hall in 2002 and again on Toronto's Drake Hotel in 2004 — are excellent sources of relevant examples for teaching.

"P2P was a fun piece, with people putting up messages in a public space by flipping a bunch of switches; it appeals to students because it's different. I draw on design challenges we faced with that piece in my Introduction to Engineering course, as well as a third-year course on microprocessor interfacing. Solar Collector will be an even richer example: it will exist as a permanent and accessible piece that students can actually visit and use."

P2P has taken Rob's teaching in different directions, as well. He met Jane Buyers, chair of Fine Arts, at a reception where he accepted an award for the piece on behalf of Gorbet Design. A conversation they had about potential areas of collaboration between engineering and fine arts led to the genesis of the Technology Art Studio course, which he co-teaches with Fine Arts Prof. Bruce Taylor.

Rob finds the process of making art stimulates creativity that can be channeled into his research. He expects aspects of his research — like his work with memory metals — to someday find a place in his art.

He joins a growing list of Waterloo faculty members who have won recent public art commissions in the region and beyond, notes UW Art Gallery director/curator Carol Podedworny. Among them are Fine Arts professors Buyers (at RIM Park and Labatt Park, Waterloo, and at Theatre & Company, Kitchener), Taylor (at the Olympic Sculpture Park in Athens, Greece), and Emeritus Professor Tony Urquhart (at RIM Park, at the University of Waterloo, and a work in progress for the City of Kitchener).

The Gorbet project is unique, however, as an example of what happens "when disciplines collide and new possibilities arise," she adds.

"Solar Collector is on the one hand, a smart, efficient and beautiful object," says Podedworny, "and on the other hand, a testament to cross-disciplinary ingenuity. It is also a great way to demonstrate that the arts and sciences are not so different from one another, that their makers work from quite similar creative processes and inspiration."

UW, Tsinghua University sign exchange agreement

The University of Waterloo and China's Tsinghua University have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for Educational and Scientific Cooperation.

The five-year exchange agreement will promote a close cooperation between the faculty members, departments and research institutes of both universities. It was signed recently by Tsinghua President Gu Binglin and UW President David Johnston.

The institutions will explore a number of collaborative activities, such as joint research, exchanges and teaching in various fields.

"Tsinghua is the top ranked university in China and based on a review of their academic programs would be a good fit with all our faculties," said Drew Knight, Director of International Programs in UW's Office of Research.

In a report on the signing, Chen Yanyan writes on Tsinghua's news website: "As one of Canada's leading research universities, the University of Waterloo was ranked most innovative among 47 universities in Canada in 2004, according to the national magazine Maclean's. Its School of Computer Science has been ranked first across Canada and is famous in the world."

The agreement calls for cooperation in these general areas:

* Joint research of common interest in the general fields of but not limited to the Arts, Environment, Materials and Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Information Technology and Computer Science.

* Exchange of non-confidential information including but not limited to exchange of teaching and research documentation.

* Joint academic program development and short-term training.

* Exchange of faculty members for research, workshops, seminars, lectures and discussions.

* Exchange of graduate students for research.

Tsinghua is located on several former royal gardens of the Qing Dynasty, surrounded by a few historical sites in northwest Beijing. Its garden-like landscaped campus, with the Wanquan River meandering through, has inspired and motivated generations of students.

Tsinghua University was established in 1911 originally as "Tsinghua Xuetang," a preparatory school for students who would be sent by the government to study in universities in the United States. The school was renamed "Tsinghua School" in 1912. The university section was instituted in 1925.

Although Western culture was pervasive in the early history of the university, Chinese culture was also cherished and widely studied. The faculty valued the interaction between the Chinese and Western cultures.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the university was molded into a polytechnic institution focusing on engineering in the nationwide restructuring of universities and colleges undertaken in 1952.

Tsinghua has flourished since 1978, with the re-establishment of the departments in sciences, economics and management, and the humanities. The Tsinghua graduate school has been recognized nationally, ranking first in the National Evaluation of Graduate Schools. The School of Continuing Education makes good use of modern information technologies, as well as the advanced educational resources at Tsinghua.

Currently, the university consists of 44 departments in these 11 schools: sciences, architecture, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, information science and technology, humanities and social sciences, economics and management, law, arts and design, public policy and management, and applied technology.

C&PA