Taubman College Catie Newell and Robert Adams, both associate professors of architecture, are part of the new U-M Center for Ethics, Society, and Computing, an interdisciplinary coalition of U-M faculty that launched in January.
ESC (pronounced “escape”) brings together U-M faculty experts in visual art, architecture, American culture, information, music, and computing, among other disciplines; faculty from other institutions, including Cornell University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and industry leaders from Google, Intel, and others. ESC is focused on studying how digital technologies and forms of media can lead to and create various forms of inequality and discrimination. It is both a research center and a scholarly collective, using an interdisciplinary approach that includes feminist and justice-centered methodologies.
Newell’s work and research captures spaces and material effects, focusing on the development of new atmospheres through the exploration of textures, volumes, and the effects of light or lack thereof. Her creative practice has been widely recognized for exploring design construction and materiality in relationship to the specificity of location and geography and cultural contingencies.
Adams focuses on the intersection of architecture, civic infrastructure, and disability culture within a bio-psycho-socio-techo conceptual model where bodies, wearable technologies, and augmented environments coalesce. His work aims to sharpen architectural strategies to draw out and reconsider the efficacy of disability through advanced geometry, immersive perceptual configurations, and responsive networks.
Among its many aims and projects, ESC sponsors lectures focusing on the complex interplay between technology, media, and culture. To learn more about ESC and upcoming events, please click here.
