Join members of the Georgia Tech STEAMed Student Mural Team, Atlanta artist Mark Wentzel and the Georgia Tech Library Thursday, Oct. 5 from 4 to 5 p.m. as they discuss the intersection of science and art and the creative process.

This event will take place in the Library’s Scholars Event Network Theater, located on the first floor of Price Gilbert. It will feature a lively discussion on the function of murals and public art, the origin of artistic ideas and the path to creating meaningful artifacts.

The mural team’s work, The Golden Ratio, is currently on display on Price Gilbert’s third floor in the Multimedia Scholarship Commons.

“While majors in fields such as ‘engineering’ or ‘business’ make the arts and sciences seem distant from each other, in reality these fields are more intertwined,” said Alison Valk, Instructional Coordinator and Multimedia Librarian for the Georgia Tech Library. “The arts and STEM are not separate and study and practice of each can benefit from knowledge of the other.”

This event is part of the Library’s ongoing smART program, which fosters student collaborations and projects with local artists.  

About the participants

Mark Wentzel visual artist based in Atlanta who works in sculpture, drawing, large-scale installations, and public art projects. Wentzel has presented work at the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Artprize in Grand Rapids, Michigan, SCOPE NY, the 2018 Venice Architectural Biennale, the V&A Museum –London Design Week and the Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam. His XLounge series was shown at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s David J. Sencer Museum, which began a decade of working with CDC as an artist, visual consultant, and designer. He has done large-scale public works in Atlanta for Flux Projects, Freedom Park Conservancy, and the Goat Farm. Wentzel’s creative and academic work focuses on how ideas emerge and how art objects and images function aesthetically, psychologically, and socially over time.   

Jody Todd is a third year PhD student in Bioengineering at Georgia Tech. Todd works in the Computational Neuroscience and Neuroimaging lab at Emory University as a research assistant. In addition to her research, Todd is passionate about art and its utility as an alternative and powerful communication tool. She enjoys visiting art museums, painting, and learning about the different perspectives of the artists themselves. 

Caroline Greiner recently graduated from Georgia Tech with a Master’s in mechanical engineering. She is interested in the health sciences and bio-inspired/sustainable design and hopes to use her skills in engineering and science communication to make a difference in those fields. Outside of the classroom, Greiner enjoys exploring STEM through the arts and spending time outdoors. 

Trisha Mitra is an undergraduate mechanical engineering student at Georgia Tech with several years of work experience in green engineering. An active member of the Atlanta art community, you can find her artwork in local galleries and art shows around the city. 

The mural team’s current work explores nature through the principles of both math and design, specifically the Golden Ratio and Fibonacci sequence.