Can sound help us understand the complex patterns in our universe? This question leads Nate to Symbolic Sound in Champaign, Illinois, where composer Carla Scaletti guides him on a journey where sound, music, and data intertwine in captivating and thought-provoking ways. Along the way, we'll meet Kimberly Arcand, who unveils the hidden melodies of space through her celestial soundscapes, delve into the fascinating world of protein folding with Martin Gruebele, and listen to the delicate dance of DNA with Mark Temple. 

This episode was inspired by a fantastic LA Times article entitled The Sounds of Science by Sumeet Kulkarni. https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2023-02-03/the-sounds-of-science

Kimberly Arcand is a visualization scientist and emerging technology lead at NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory with the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian.

Martin Gruebele is a professor at the University of Illinois where he leads the Gruebele Group. 

Carla Scaletti is an experimental composer, designer of the Kyma sound design language and co-founder of Symbolic Sound Corporation.

Mark Temple is a Senior Lecturer in Molecular Biology in the School of Science at the Western Sydney University (WSU).  Mark also created a web app that lets anyone plug and play their own DNA that’s been sequenced by a company such as 23andMe or Ancestry.com.

Web App: http://dnasonification.org/index.html
Myrtle Rust performance: https://youtu.be/n_3edKbfmbg

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101: The Science of Sound with Kimberly Arcand, Martin Gruebele, Carla Scaletti, and Mark Temple

Created by Nate when he was 5 years-old, The Show About Science is an awesome adventure into the wondrous world of scientific research and discovery! Over the last 7 years, Nate has filled each episode with fascinating information from scientists and educators from around the globe. Together, Nate and his guests explore everything from chemistry to climate change, evolution to extraterrestrials, and human brains to bat biology. If you’re curious about science, then this is the show for you!

Experimental electronic soundscapes ....reflecting ....feeling...remembering... processing... celebrating... experiencing ... I make my sounds using Ableton Live, with a combination of virtual studio instruments, drum pads, an electro acoustic guitar and bass guitar, a tin whistle, and record various objects for Foley sounds. 

I've played the classical guitar and drum kit since childhood, but only started making electronic music in 2020... I love the freedom in experimentation that electronic brings and have a lot of fun creating melodies by overlaying full sounds, which drift together and form their own voice. Thank you and I hope you enjoy listening to my music!
