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STEAM

The age of

STEAMIntroductionWelcome to the new age of STEAM! No, I’m not talking about the well-known by-product of boiling water – STEAM is something slightly different. It is the natural evolution of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) to incorporate a working relationship with the arts, thus STEAM is science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, working together for the benefit of all.

One of the core aims of STEAM is to facilitate a working relationship, and in some cases a symbiosis, between various disciplines of STEM, and the art sector, where artists are allowed to freely explore, and express the principle, and concepts of STEM. It is a relationship where both sides can mutually work together. Artists will not be purely used as illustrators but may be involved during various stages of a new product development, from idea generation to design and development. As STEAM develops it will host workshops, where scientists, engineers, and artists of various disciplines will come together and freely exchange ideas, and hopefully spawn their own spin-off projects.

This venture will actively reach out to the general public, and actively engage with people from outside of science, engineering, and the arts, with the active goal of inspiring them, as well as demonstrating the benefits and impact that these sectors have on their lives. We aim to develop

an active community where anyone can become involved.

HistoryOver the years, numerous potentially amazing engineering and science projects have fallen by the wayside, or failed to achieve funding grants, not because those projects were not brilliant, but due to the inability of the project to clearly express the core values that they aimed to achieve and in a language that is both engaging, and that people outside of their field can understand. As an engineer, I’ve seen this flaw reoccur time and time again. At times I have struggled or had to take extra effort to understand what a project is trying to achieve, although some of those projects may have been technically fascinating. I am of the view that if a skilled engineer is having to take extra effort to understand a prospective projects brief, then how do we expect to gain support from those outside of our field, such as financial backers?

One of the most important lessons that I learned from studying design, was that it doesn’t matter how great a product you have designed; if you cannot market it then it will go nowhere.

This flaw is something that LiftPort are acutely aware of. Michael Laine, president of LiftPort, coined the term STEAM several years ago. LiftPort is a company that is currently designing a Lunar based space elevator and is one of the prime movers of

David Evans BEng GradIED introduces STEAM, where science, technology, engineering and mathematics meet art and work together.

Artists will not be purely used as illustrators but may be involved during various stages of a new product development,

from idea generation to design and development.

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STEAM

STEAM. At present a relationship between Dundee and LiftPort is being forged, where local writers, illustrators and jewellers, plus artists of various other disciplines, will be working on STEAM as well as with LiftPort.

The researchFor approximately a year, I conducted an independent, impartial investigation into the possibilities of art and engineering working together. During the course of this investigation I met and interviewed artists of various disciplines ranging from fine art to jewellery, as well as exploring the point of view from both artists and engineers alike.

An independent jeweller by the name of Leanne T Evans, helped during the course of the investigation as she gave me a copy of her dissertation The Bridging of the Gap between Art and Science, which gave a point of view from an artist, who also has a strong interest in the sciences. In her dissertation she states that “Leonardo da Vinci made great achievements as an artist and as a scientist, by painting the well-known Mona Lisa and his groundbreaking anatomical research, shown in his Vitruvian Man with its detailed drawing of muscle and bone structure.“ It seems that as time has gone on, the relationship between art and engineering has begun to separate and become isolated from one another.

At first glance the mere thought of science, engineering, and art working together may sound somewhat strange. Each sector seems to have predominant characteristics, science with its sceptical yet inquisitive nature; engineering, bound by strict procedures; and the creative, yet unbound

nature of the arts. Although different, they are but the three corners of a triangle. By working together they will have a far greater influence on the public and hopefully on innovation.

STEAM is not only about the relationship between science, engineering, and art, it also aims to promote the interchange of ideas of various disciplines within these sectors. For example, principles learned in aircraft engineering, can be overlooked in other engineering disciplines. Bringing the two disciplines together allows for an exchange of ideas which may have been previously overlooked. We aim to promote innovation from new as well as old ideas and create new relationships between existing disciplines.

DSEATo allow for the long-term growth and sustainability of STEAM, instead of a short-lived ‘flash in the pan approach’ an association called DSEA (Discovery Science, Engineering, and Arts) has been created. This association is staffed by professionals of various disciplines and is member driven.

DSEA is based in Dundee, but is involved with artists from throughout the globe, as well as aerospace groups such as LiftPort, and ISON.

The age of STEAM will drive forward a change of culture; will you be on board?liftport.comwww.facebook.com/isonspace?fref=tsleannetevansjewellery.comhttps://www.facebook.com/pages/DSEA/716575035034939

At first glance the mere thought of

science, engineering, and art working

together may sound somewhat strange.