Blurred Boundaries: Where Science, Art, & Music Collide

There is an image of a scientist: sat in a laboratory surrounded by glass flasks with bubbling green liquids. This talk, however, is about what happens when scientists leave the lab and say “yes” to interesting people. You will learn about how rubbish has been reformed into a vast, upside-down field of huge, buzzing flowers; listen to an opera about moths being counted with radar; and hear how science fiction is being used to fill in the gaps around hard scientific fact. Prepare to be intrigued, inspired, and perhaps a little confused by art and the science by which it was inspired.

The Cadenza Project aims to improve music listening experiences for people with hearing loss, through perceptual research and machine learning challenges to develop new music signal processing strategies. Hearing loss can create difficulties for music listening, including inaudibility, excessive loudness, distortion, feedback, and reduced clarity. Hearing aids can have positive effects for music, but the technologies and signal processing strategies are mostly developed for speech. This talk outlines the 1st Cadenza machine learning challenge, and discusses next steps in the research.

Discover the hidden beauty of food science, nutrition, and sustainable proteins through the lens of photography. This exhibit showcases “Leeds University School of Food Science and Nutrition” entries of stunning visuals that capture the science behind the foods we eat—from microscopic textures to innovative plant-based alternatives. Explore how science shapes taste, texture, and nutrition. This exhibit offers a fresh perspective on current research and importance of the research being done in food.

Caitlin Stobie, Paul Beales and the Beales Research Group worked on a collaboration as part of the Leeds Creative Labs: Bragg Centre Edition from 2019 to 2022. Blurred Lines: Life, Matter, Poetry is inspired by the science of artificial cells and philosophical concepts from new materialism. We have shared interests in considering blurred lines between living and non-living matter and the ethical implications these have for medicine. Our collaboration took shape through a mix of in-person and digital encounters, sharing research images and time in the lab.