[dorkbotpdx-announce] DorkbotPDX brings you Collin Oldham, Shelly Farnham and Steve Davee, Dec 7th, 6pm @ AboutUs

[Thomas Lockney]

 DorkbotPDX brings you Collin Oldham, Shelly Farnham and Steve Davee

Come join us for an evening of geek meets art. The fine folks at AboutUs
will be hosting us for this event, which takes place December 7th at 6PM.
AboutUs is located at 107 SE Washington St, Suite 520. Feel free to bring
snacks and drinks to share. Please spread the word!

Collin Oldham: The RT (radio trowel) and The Cellomobo

Collin spent the 2005-2006 academic year at Stanford's Center for Computer
Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) where began to develop the
electronic musical instruments he is presenting today.

The RT (radio trowel) uses a capacitive sensor array based on Max Mathew's
radio baton to detect the position of the trowel on the playing surface. The
trowel's movements control sound synthesis parameters, including filters
which process live sound from a contact mic attached to the trowel.

The cellomobo is a computer music instrument that attempts to model the
behavior of a bowed string. It gives haptic feedback to the bow at audio
rate to simulate the stick-slip action of a bowed string. This feedback
stream finds it way back into the audio stream, creating a unique hybrid of
digital and analog synthesis.

Collin Oldham is a cellist who has performed around the world with such
varied and luminous artists as Placido Domingo, Kiri Te Kanawa, Rosemary
Clooney and Aretha Franklin. He's active as a session player, and has
recorded with the Decemberists, Richmond Fontaine, and Elliott Smith, among
many others.

Shelly Farnham: Dorkbot Dorkbot Dorkbot + Seattle

I am that rare combination of geek, artist, and scientist and when I first
met Dorkbot Seattle I  felt like I'd *finally* found my people -- where
technology is artistic medium, science is art, and geeking out is just a
whole lot of fun.  My one complaint was that Seattle Dorkbots were not
collaborating enough, and when I took over as Seattle's "Dork Overlord" it
was my main mission -- to cultivate the creative geek community.

In this talk, I will review the best of Dorkbot Seattle's art, geekery, and
science, and discuss how we have worked to increase cross-disciplinary
collaboration through our meetings, workshops, and art shows.

Shelly Farnham received her Ph.D. in Social Psychology at UW in 1999, after
which she worked at Microsoft Research for seven years studying community
technology.  A few years ago she quit to join the start up world, and is now
co-founder of Pathable (professional networking for events).  In her "spare"
time she paints, does collaborative installations, and instigates people to
have more fun creating stuff.

Steve Davee: Not to kill a thought: The impact of language on curiosity,
creativity and scientific inquiry.

This talk explores how easy it is, even with the best of intentions, to
stifle creative thought and true learning when it comes to working with
children in the areas of science, math and engineering.  We will investigate
examples of simple but powerful changes in language, with the intention of
provoking the best of creative potential and shared inquiry.

Steve Davee is a math and science teacher at Opal Charter School and a Media
Specialist for the Center for Children's Learning at the Portland Children's
Museum. He is a recovering Biochemist with a background in physics and over
20 years of volunteer and work experience in education.
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