Scott Garner

This interactive book is a philosophical, theoretical and practical exploration of the difficulties and delights associated with the human drive to create.

http://makingthingsbeautiful.net/

Description

This is an exercise in "writing to learn" as I attempt to codify a lifetime of lessons into a working philosophy for myself, for readers dealing with similar issues and for anyone else interested in the creative process. It would be impossible to write a comprehensive book on the subject, so I focus on aspects of creative work that I have found either particularly difficult or particularly rewarding. These ideas—such as perfectionism, inspiration and resonance—are supplemented by interactive illustrations, work by other creative people and quotes and concepts from artists, philosophers and authors.

Talya Stein Rochlin

My project is a series of interactive kinetic sculptures, a family of creatures. Each sculpture corresponds to a specific sense. A fun, crazy exhibit where the viewer becomes a part of the art, interacting with the creatures, bringing them to life.

Description

My creatures are "alive". They are asleep when you first walk into the exhibit, and come to life as they are approached.
The series is built of five models, Each of the five basic senses are represented as individual creatures.
Touch was made into a kinetic sculpture out of tentacles. Smooth organic motion activated by touch, touching the users.
I began to sculpt when I was 3 and find it very dissatisfying not to be allowed to touch a sculpture. It's half of the experience. My thesis is my personal attempt to break the rules of the traditional museum, where you have to be quiet, and just observe the art. I want the viewers to leave my exhibit with smiles on their faces, feeling like they were engaged deeply with the art.

Vanessa Joho

(m)EatLess is a mobile application that uses gamification to influence users to lower their meat and cheese consumption in order to help avoid climate change. The less meat you eat the healthier your green companion, Rimo will be.

Description

Our diets cause more greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, and nitrous oxide into the atmosphere than either transportation or industry companies. According to the UN, meat production is one of the most significant contributors to climate change. (m)EatLess is a mobile application that is tackling the issue by using gaming tactics to influence users to eat less meat and cheese. Rimo is the character in the app whose health gets affected by the user’s activity level. The more green tasks completed each day the healthier he will be.

Youjin Shin

AQUA-BRIDGE is a web-based Information Communication Technology platform to help solve drinking water purification problems in Kiwalani, Tanzania by allowing effective communication with well water filter users and monitoring filter performance.

http://www.aqua-bridge.org/

Description

Tackling drinking water issues in developing countries with well filters has largely failed due to the limited field data on how successful the filters have been in reducing disease. Part of the problem has been ineffective communication between filter users in local villages and the project managers monitoring the filters. AQUA-BRIDGE will develop a streamlined system for logging water quality and communicating results between filter users and project managers via text messaging. In addition, a system of data visualization will be developed for project managers to use in data analysis and the public to view on the web.

Mohammad Shahrooz

The Jujubox is an immersive small scale virtual theater that gives the audience control of multiple audiovisual states of a performance. Through optical illusion, the feel of an actual live performance is recreated to enhance the user experience.

Description

The Jujubox is a unique interactive musical video theater. The user is initially given the option to choose between a variety of performers. Once each performance begins, the user has the ability through a wide variety of physical controls, to manipulate various audiovisual aspects of the performance. The box itself acts as a virtual stage. A flat panel LCD screen is nested at the bottom, facing up. With two sheets of clear glass carefully placed at specific angles inside, the reflections from the screen provide the illusion of three-dimensional imagery. Additionally, the dual glass sheets provide an added sense of depth.

Patricia R. Zablah

A workshop mentoring program focused on teaching media literacy to teenage girls. The girls combat sexist media by creating their own, new media that "hacks it back" and portrays more accurate representations of women.

http://www.hackitback.com

Description

Hack It Back is a program that teaches women and girls to decode sexist media messages through observation and critical analysis of media, its creators and its effects. In the workshops, which range from eight hours to a month, teens are paired with mentors to create their own media. They use digital and analog tools to break stereotypical gender roles. At the end of each workshop, teens strengthen their confidence by presenting their projects to an invited audience. The projects are published online and made available for download, if applicable. Ultimately, Hack It Back fosters a better image of women, becoming a catalyst for participants to see themselves as leaders who can break through societal and cultural barriers imposed on them.

Peter Terezakis

There are 435 civil nuclear power reactors around the world and 71 being built. 104 nuclear reactors in 31 states in the USA.  Number of existing military nuclear reactors is not known.
I am constructing an open-source wearable radiation detector.

http://www.mykrodot.com

Description

In 2010 US criminalized media coverage of BP oil spill. Obama supports Japan's new secrecy law and has extended scope of existing domestic secrecy acts. Existing radiation detectors are often expensive and vary both in accuracy and credibility.



Accidents happen; events occur. 

There is a current and growing need to be able to detect the presence of abnormal levels of radiation in the food which we consume, the water we drink, and the volumes through which we travel and inhabit.

I will design and fabricate an accessible, affordable, and reliable device based upon sound physics and available materials. The open source device will have repeatable results using readily available parts.
Multiple detectors will increase sensitivity.

Rafa Gross-Brown

I will create a series of connected web-based shorts to create a feeling of awareness about the local and intergenerational impact of climate change, with embedded information about local initiatives site visitors can pursue.

Description

My project will consist of a short about present local(city-specific) scenarios, created to be thought-provoking. I will develop a "pilot" video for my thesis, setting a programmatic & storytelling framework. The content will be tailored to a viewer's geolocation: visual and textual elements will set the story in the viewer's town, better contextualizing the narrative. A narrator reminds the viewer of how their town is subtly changing, and that change must happen.The theme "your town" will be supported by the theme"your kids". The subtext is climate change. The pilot will (ideally) be one of three shorts, each with a different theme: this one's theme is plastic. The experience ends with a list of geo-specific action-based initiatives.

Jon Wasserman

A dedicated virtual space for New Yorkers to vent and express their dissatisfaction with New York.

Description

It would seem unnecessary to create an outlet for people, New Yorkers no less, to express themselves given the social media landscape. However, this dedicated space for anonymous self-expression and civic reflection has a niche purpose. Utilizing flow theory this site nurtures the range of social commentary, superficial to profound, without the gravitas, friction or obligation of forum involvement.

VENT NY serves as scapegoat, megaphone, burning effigy, bilge pump and litmus strip.

Jonas Pedersen

I'm putting all NYC rental listings in one place. I'm taking real time data, and keeping it free, honest, simple, and user friendly. By making the hunt for an apartment as simple and transparent as possible, I'm putting the fun back into the hunt.

http://www.simplyhunt.com/#!/

Description

Finding an apartment in New York City is stressful and expensive. The problem is two-fold for tenants. You have to find the right apartment and then get application approval in a market that favours property managers and is controlled by brokers. Property management listings are public domain but most NYC residents don’t know they exist, they don’t know where to find the listings, and searching through them individually is highly inefficient. I am filling this gap by putting the listings in one place. I am taking real time data, keeping it free, honest, simple and user friendly.
Simplyhunt offers 3 services:
1: Find an apartment
2: Setup view appoint with landlords
3: Custom tailored application based on specific management requirements