16 June 2005
Computer science and art and design will combine later this year when Monash's Centre for Electronic Media Art (CEMA) opens a branch at the Caulfield campus.
The Caulfield branch, to be housed in the Art and Design faculty building, will be the second arm of CEMA. The first was opened in the Faculty of Information Technology's School of Computer Science and Software Engineering at Clayton in 1999.
Information Technology faculty dean Professor Ron Weber and Art and Design faculty dean Professor John Redmond announced the Caulfield initiative last week.
The Caulfield branch is part of a long-term plan to establish CEMA as an internationally-recognised centre for theory and research. It will operate as one entity across the two faculties and be managed by academic staff from both faculties.
Research students and staff will have access to IT facilities at Clayton such as an experimental production laboratory with facilities to produce electronic media artworks in the areas of computer music, interactive multimedia, computer animation and interactive sound.
This will complement the Department of Multimedia and Digital Arts' purpose-built digital media studios at Caulfield, which has facilities for producing digital imaging, web design, interactive media, animation, virtual spaces and digital video.
Professor Weber said researchers from the IT and Art and Design faculties would bring together new and complementary perspectives on technology and art.
"Over the last decade, IT has had a dramatic impact on the way creative ideas are realised, produced and delivered," Professor Weber said. "The Caulfield centre will lead to the development of new cross-disciplinary research and education programs that utilise cutting-edge IT research driven by advanced creative goals."
Professor Redmond said society's rapid uptake of technology had opened up exciting new possibilities for artists, designers and IT professionals to collaborate.
"The incorporation of Art and Design places CEMA in a stronger position to channel and investigate these opportunities from current perspectives," he said. "This new initiative will offer substantial research opportunities to devise and explore next generation applications in creative domains."
For information, contact Dr Jon McCormack, IT Faculty, on +61 3 9905 9298, Ms Lauren Bialkower, Faculty of Art and Design on +61 3 9903 1832 or Ms Karen Stichtenoth, Media Communications on +61 3 9905 1253.
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