Research highlights

Overvelde connects Science & Art

On October 25th at the Cinekid Festival in Amsterdam, AMOLF scientific group leader Bas Overvelde received a grant to build an interactive art installation. It is one of three original media artworks that will be produced following the “Supernatural: stories of worlds to come” international call for projects (les voyages de capitaine future). The installation is called “The Edge of Chaos” and is designed by the Soft Robotic Matter Group (Amsterdam). Bas Overvelde and designers Vasilija Abramovic, Ruari Glynn from the Interactive Lab are stoked about the news and are gearing up to start building the structure. Upon completion, the art installation will go on tour in Europe (Paris, Amsterdam, Namur) to be exhibited by all four organizers of the competition: Cinekid, la Gaîté Lyrique, KIKK and WoeLab.

“Edge of Chaos”
What happens between order and chaos? The interactive art installation “Edge of Chaos” invites visitors to cross boundaries and experience this balance point between highly ordered and turbulent systems. The installation uses geometries developed in Overvelde’s research group and a kinetic installation to create a bewildering atmosphere. Rather than assembling the building blocks in a precise and systematic way, the “Edge of Chaos” installation mimics the design process of the future, where new materials, technology and ideas will emerge from turbulent processes and where artificial intelligence plays a major role. For AMOLF, the project addresses some key principles that are important to the institute. It tells a story about our technological world and it induces a collaborative culture that allows the active participation of children and the co-constructing of creative knowledge: learning by experimenting together.

“Edge of Chaos” is a collaboration with the Interactive Lab at the Bartlett School of Architecture in London (www.interactivearchitecture.org).

Watch ‘winners of the Open Call – Les Voyages de Capitaine futur’ from KIKK Festival on Vimeo.

“Edge of Chaos” will be exhibited in 2018 at the following locations:

  • The Capitaine futur and the Supernature collective’s exhibition, held at La Gaîté Lyrique in Paris, France, from April to July 2018.
  • The Cinekid Film, Television and Digital Media Festival in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, as part of the ten-day MediaLab exhibition in October 2018.
  • Little.KIKK, an event held in conjunction with the KIKK Festival in Namur, Belgium, for 7 days in November 2018.
  • One of the 3 projects will be exhibited at WoeLab in Lomé, Togo, in late 2018
Share article
What's happening

Most recent news items

All news items
Collaboration

Successful outcomes of international EBEAM program led by AMOLF

The EU Pathfinder project Electron Beams Enhancing Analytical Microscopy (EBEAM) that was recently completed has received a highly positive review of the European Innovation Council (EIC). EBEAM brought together eight European research institutions and companies, including AMOLF, that develop new concepts and instruments combining spectroscopic analysis with electron microscopy.

Read news item
Research highlights

Everything you need to know about organoids

Organoids are instrumental in improving our understanding of processes that are otherwise hidden inside the body. For instance, these small 3D organs can be used to test medicines on tissue grown from a patient’s own cells. AMOLF researchers carry out unique and complex experiments to follow organoids in time. In order to enable other researchers to benefit from their experiences, they now publish their methods in the prestigious journal Nature Protocols.

Read news item
Events and outreach

Minister Rianne Letschert wears hat and shoulder ornament inspired by Wim Noorduin’s research

This year at the opening of the parliamentary year (Prinsjesdag) Minister of Education, Culture and Science Rianne Letschert wears a spectacular hat and shoulder ornament. Both of them are inspired by the microscopic structures studied by group leader Wim Noorduin (AMOLF/UvA), which look remarkably like tiny flowers under a microscope. Artist and designer Malou Beemer translated these shapes, normally invisible to the naked eye, into wearable art.

Read news item
Nachi Stern, Group Leader Learning Machines at AMOLF
People and recognition

Nachi Stern awarded ERC Starting Grant to explore how matter learns

Why do brains learn, but rocks do not? Could a material one day adapt to its environment the way a living organism does? AMOLF group leader Dr. Nachi Stern has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant to investigate the physical laws of learning, in a project called, “Physical Learning in Dynamical Systems.”

Read news item
Stay informed

Get the latest research highlights, events, and news from our institute delivered to your inbox