Abstract

I was an art major as an undergraduate before being lured into biomechanics and biofluiddynamics by the beauty of natural forms, both living and physical.  Since I have done both art and science, I see two striking similarities between the two pursuits.   One is careful observation of the natural world  (but scientists have tools that let us “see” more than artists can see with their eyes alone).  The other is the use of abstraction to capture the essence of something (objects, processes), although the “language” used to communicate the abstraction is visual for the artist, while it is also mathematical for the scientist.  Most of this workshop focuses on how science and mathematics can inform and inspire art, but I will provide some examples from my own work of how collaboration with artists can aid scientific research.