Faculty activities

Amos Confer, assistant professor of computer science, has been working with a group of generative design artists on an English translation of their book, Generative Gestaltung.

“I contacted the publisher, Hermann Schmidt Mainz, and one of the authors, Julia Laub, to gauge their interest in working toward an English version of the German text, originally published in 2009,” Confer says. “The project was already underway, but the translator had no prior knowledge of generative design or technical expertise, so I was asked to assist by reviewing and editing her translation as it was completed, with a particular concentration on the second half of the text, which contained a focus on algorithms and code.”

Generative design is “a revolutionary new method of creating artwork, models, and animations from sets of rules, or algorithms,” according to the book’s authors:  Hartmut Bohnacker, Benedikt Gross and Julia Laub. “By using accessible programming languages such as Processing, artists and designers are producing extravagant, crystalline structures that can form the basis of anything from patterned textiles and typography to lighting, scientific diagrams, sculptures, films, and even fantastical buildings.”

The completed English translation, Generative Design: Visualize, Program, and Create with Processing, has now been published in the United States by Princeton Architectural Press, papress.com.  An overview of generative design is available at http://vimeo.com/45192054.

Confer says he plans to offer a special topics computer science course on generative design in fall 2013.

Kathryn Stam, associate professor of anthropology, presented “Refugees in the U.S.: What we can learn about refugee life through Facebook photos” at the American Anthropological Association annual meetings, November 15, 2012, San Francisco, Calif.