Arghonoon Project
Project Director Reza Vali and collaborator Eric Barndollar are developing a computer-driven keyboard instrument that will be produce the sounds of Persian traditional and folk instruments using the Pythagorean tuning system of Persian and Middle Eastern music. Individual instruments in a digital Western European sound library have been manually retuned according to the interval ratios of the Persian modes and software is being developed to automate this process. Future plans include bringing masters of Persian traditional instruments to record samples of the sounds of their instruments for a new sound library, developing accompaniment software, and experimenting with new types of keyboard instruments (such as ergonomic keyboards) and foot pedals, to control the Arghonoon instrument in place of the present style of European keyboard.


Community Forest Project
An inquiry into the role of woodlands as community and cultural assets, led by project directors Constance and Thomas Merriman. They've identified an extensive matrix of greenspace within the Pittsburgh region's urban environment. Because of the regional topography of mountainous plateaus with rivers and floodplains in valleys with steep hillsides, undeveloped strips and patches of woodland are woven into the built environment, resulting in a much higher than average percentage of forested urban space. The Merrimans will demonstrate, through visual representations, how this system functions and increase people's understanding and appreciation for the value of these urban ecosystems. The citizens of this urban forest community are people, plants, animals, birds, and other living creatures. They will produce visual artifacts in collaboration with these residents and users, and present the outcomes of this experience to the public. The presentation of these visual artifacts will act as a catalyst for dialog on the topic of the value of urban ecological systems. Developing a deeper understanding of how Pittsburgh's forest network functions and provides habitat for all the region's residents can lead to models that could be applied in other urban areas.


End of Code
End of Code is a 20 minute computer animation project directed by Distinguished Fellow James Duesing and supported by a grant from the NEA. The finished animation will be a humorous depiction of two groups of animal/human hybrid characters competing for power as personified by traffic. In order to hack into the city's system of traffic lights, they must examine and decipher the social and behavioral codes of their culture. The production of this animation is both an exploration of contemporary narrative and an experiment in complex visual communication using developing technology. Duesing's goal is to involve people from the scientific community directly in the artistic process. He is collaborating with computer scientists to use motion capture and develop dynamic simulations and non-photo realistic rendering techniques to give this project a unique visual aspect. Jessica Hodgins, Professor of Computer Science and Robotics, is overseeing the motion capture and development of rendering algorithms.


High Point Park Investigation
David Bear directs an inquiry into the design of a public park on top of the US Steel Tower in downtown Pittsburgh. At 841 feet, the US Steel Tower is the highest building between Philadelphia and Chicago, with a triangular rooftop closely mimicking Pittsburgh's Point State Park in both outline and orientation. This rooftop, being nearly one acre in area, is also the largest, highest space on top of any building on Earth. Bear's vision is to transform this presently flat, empty expanse into a publicly accessible green facility that both contributes to civic well-being and conforms to the highest standards of solar and sustainable design. High Point Park will incorporate green design and construction techniques to minimize its energy needs, wind power and photovoltaics to create electricity, and sustainable plantings to make use of rainwater to make the facility environmentally self-sustaining. The park should also be financially self-sustained, generating the revenue to support its on-going operation. A related aspect of the investigation is the Pittsburgh Gigapanorama project which seeks to capture and promote the incredible view seen from the top of the Steel Tower. The first Pittsburgh Gigapanorama is an interactive, 360-degree portrait of southwest Pennsylvania as seen from the roof of the building. Assembled from more than 4000 individual pictures, this photograph contains 31.3 gigabytes (10.5 gigapixels) of information, ranking it among the largest digital images ever created. Future gigapanoramas are planned.


One Mile Garden
One Mile Garden is an experiment that intends to create a model for small scale food production and distribution in small communities. Project Directors Bob Bingham, Robin Hewlett and Ally Reeves are investigating social conditions, food security, and relationships between individual and collective action. They are working with the Coleman Center for the Arts to create a central communal garden, satellite gardens on participants' properties and an edible townscape of fruit and nut trees in a one-mile area of York, Alabama. Practices will include dialogue with participants to reveal needs and interests, and the establishment of networks for information, resource and skill sharing. The goal is to form personalized connections to food through a variety of growing strategie--communal and private; active (cultivated garden) and passive (edible townscape); small, medium and large-scale gardens, ranging from a windowsill planter to city lots.


Space Arts Project
Directed by Distinguished Fellow Lowry Burgess, this project aims to broaden and create opportunities for artists to engage with and participate in the pursuit of space travel and exploration. There is a particular focus on zero gravity flights for artists through the establishment of an organization named the Zero Gravity Arts Consortium. Project activities also include exhibits, conference papers, workshops, publications, reports, classes, peer group meetings, lectures, journal articles and art works. The audience includes artists, scientists, technologists, educators and the general public. In April 2008, Burgess and collaborators Vashti Germaine, Andrew Kaiser, Jonathan Minard, Frank Pietronigro and Franco Sciannameo unveiled "I See the Earth and It Is Beautiful" at Yuri's Night, an art, science and music celebration in the San Francisco Bay Area. This project linked the audience with the International Space Station in a tribute to our global space heritage. The current focus is on a suite of participatory artworks that will be transported to the Moon in December 2012 aboard Carnegie Mellon University's experimental lunar rover in collaboration with the Robotics Institute and Astrobotic Technology Inc.