{"628448":{"#nid":"628448","#data":{"type":"news","title":"\u0022ASTOUNDING ELEMENTS\u0022 Caps Georgia Tech\u2019s Periodic Table Festivities ","body":[{"value":"\u003Ch4\u003EBy Michael Pearson\u003C\/h4\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFrom adamantium to dilithium, unobtanium, and vibranium, fictional elements have long played key roles in stories meant to help explain our world or just keep us entertained.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs the Georgia Institute of Technology winds down its \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/periodictable.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003Ecelebration of the International Year of the Periodic Table of the Chemical Elements\u003C\/a\u003E, the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts\u0026rsquo; \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.lmc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Literature, Media, and Communication\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;(LMC) has partnered with the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECollege of Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E and the Georgia Tech Library to narrate how those elements have figured over millennia of human storytelling.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;ASTOUNDING ELEMENTS,\u0026rdquo; an exhibit in Crosland Tower opening on Nov. 7, celebrates elements \u0026ndash; real and fictional \u0026ndash; and looks back at some events and artifacts from activities led by the College of Sciences.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;What will be most exciting for most people is to realize not just how central elements are to contemporary storytelling, but how long ago humans have speculated about the fundamental building blocks of the universe and how we might use them to create both wonderful and terrible futures,\u0026rdquo; said \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.iac.gatech.edu\/people\/faculty\/yaszek\u0022\u003ELisa Yaszek\u003C\/a\u003E, an LMC professor who specializes in science fiction and helped create the exhibit.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe exhibit features elements in science fiction; periodic table makeovers by students in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/design.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ECollege of Design\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026rsquo;s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.id.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Industrial Design\u003C\/a\u003E; elements-inspired art submitted to the Spring 2019 Art Crawl organized by the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/arts.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Office of the Arts\u003C\/a\u003E; and much more.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The periodic table is one of humanity\u0026rsquo;s most consequential scientific achievements,\u0026rdquo; said College of Sciences Dean Susan Lozier. \u0026ldquo;The College of Sciences is proud to have led Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s yearlong celebration and delighted to have engaged many partners along the way.\u0026nbsp;The Institute\u0026rsquo;s dazzling quilt of contributions is a fitting tribute to the 150th anniversary of one of the world\u0026rsquo;s most recognizable scientific icons.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003EFrom Adamantium to Infinity Stones: Researching Elements in the Science Fiction Lab\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMaterial for the elements in science fiction came from largely from research by Lily Steele (LMC 2019), Yaszek\u0026rsquo;s former student. As Steele scoured resources in the LMC\u0026rsquo;s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/scifi.lmc.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EScience Fiction Lab\u003C\/a\u003E, she uncovered dozens of examples of elements in ancient lore and beyond: celestial bronze from Greek mythology, imperial gold of Roman stories, and Atlantis\u0026rsquo; mythical orichalcum.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn science fiction, examples run the gamut from eadhamite \u0026ndash; an element that makes roads smooth \u0026ndash; in the 1899 novel\u003Cem\u003E When the Sleeper Wakes; \u003C\/em\u003Eto supermanium, which composed the Man of Steel\u0026rsquo;s Supermobile; to the more recent unobtanium, popularized by \u003Cem\u003EAvatar\u003C\/em\u003E, and \u003Cem\u003EBlack Panther\u0026rsquo;\u003C\/em\u003Es vibranium.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EEven the \u0026quot;infinity stones\u0026quot; wielded by Thor, Thanos, and Star-Lord in various Marvel Comics publications and films are described as elemental building blocks of the universe, according to Steele.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;As science fiction has progressed, it\u0026rsquo;s gone from elements being used for building things, maybe as weapons, to things that are a little more weird, like time travel or elements that bend space,\u0026rdquo; she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOne peculiar example: Terry Pratchett\u0026rsquo;s narrativium \u0026ndash; the elemental underpinning of all stories.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThen there are the ones Steele wouldn\u0026rsquo;t ever mind hearing about again.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Glassite,\u0026rdquo; she deadpanned. \u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s literally. Just. Glass.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003EAlways Something New\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMany people don\u0026rsquo;t think much about elements, Yaszek said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;They seem such a fundamental part of life that they almost seem un-noteworthy. But once you start to look at them in science fiction you realize elements aren\u0026rsquo;t just the building blocks of our own worlds. They are the building blocks of fictional worlds, too.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThat\u0026rsquo;s because \u0026ldquo;science fiction is almost always about something new: a new scientific discovery, a new technological invention,\u0026rdquo; Yaszek said. \u0026ldquo;If you want to go faster than light, if you want to have modified bones that are stronger than steel, if you want to have a glass-domed spaceship that\u0026#39;s not going to crack in outer space, you have to imagine elements beyond our own world.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003EAn Elemental Conversation\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Nov. 7 grand opening of \u0026ldquo;ASTOUNDING ELEMENTS\u0026rdquo; features \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/events\/myth-marvel-role-elements-science-fiction-and-culture-0\u0022\u003Ea panel discussion\u003C\/a\u003E Yaszek organized. The panel consists of Milton Davis, an Atlanta science fiction writer and chemist; \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/modlangs.gatech.edu\/people\/person\/38db520b-2342-5ea8-a3e0-57b340e6d49a\u0022\u003EAmanda Weiss,\u003C\/a\u003E an assistant professor in the School of Modern Languages and science fiction writer; and College of Sciences professors \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.physics.gatech.edu\/user\/deirdre-shoemaker\u0022\u003EDeirdre Shoemaker\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.chemistry.gatech.edu\/people\/finn\/m.g.\u0022\u003EM.G. Finn\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;This panel will show how people are thinking about and exploring the elements in their work, both in science and science fiction,\u0026rdquo; Yaszek said.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EDavis said much of his work as a chemist has been with compounds, not elements, and as a longtime author of fantasy books, he has had so far had little need for elemental wordplay. But now that he is moving into science fiction and cyberpunk, he is finding more opportunities in the interplay of silicon and carbon with his cybernetically enhanced characters.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;There are so many ways that the elements influence fiction,\u0026rdquo; he said. \u0026ldquo;You can talk about almost anything in science fiction and break it down to elements and compounds.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003EAn Elemental Year\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EReconnecting with the periodic table, a cornerstone of scientific inquiry for 150 years, has been the goal of Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s yearlong celebration. Periodic table events \u0026ndash; from arts and athletics, to academics and fun \u0026ndash; have touched all corners of campus and engaged faculty, staff, students, and Atlanta science fans.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe kickoff event was the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/year-round-cheers-periodic-table-georgia-tech\u0022\u003EJan. 22 basketball game against Notre Dame\u003C\/a\u003E, in which fans had a chance to play games with periodic table and element cards. Completing the festivities are a Frontiers in Science lecture on the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/events\/geopolitics-rare-and-not-so-rare-elements-0\u0022\u003Egeopolitics of rare elements, on Nov. 12\u003C\/a\u003E, and the December episode of \u0026ldquo;My Favorite Element.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIn between, the School of Music\u0026rsquo;s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=swOAI5TU1Tk\u0026amp;feature=youtu.be\u0022\u003Elaptop orchestra performed a concert\u003C\/a\u003E featuring an original composition inspired by the periodic table. Students in the School of Industrial Design built prototypes of their \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/621467\u0022\u003Ereimagining of the periodic table in public spaces\u003C\/a\u003E. Students attending summer classes attended \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=eArXCsOcBe4\u0026amp;feature=youtu.be\u0022\u003EHalloween in June\u003C\/a\u003E, a costume party and variety show. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/first-year-students-create-their-very-own-periodic-tables\u0022\u003EFirst-year students created their own periodic tables\u003C\/a\u003E. On the first week of the 2019-20 school year, everyone was invited to a campus-wide \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/periodictable.gatech.edu\/hg\/item\/623346\u0022\u003Escavenger hunt for chemical elements\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s celebration has been unique for its 12-month duration, variety, and diverse participation,\u0026rdquo; said Maureen Rouhi, the College of Sciences\u0026rsquo; director of communications and lead for periodic table festivities. \u0026ldquo;Seeing the periodic table from multiple perspectives has been mind-opening.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Exhibit highlights elements in fiction; looks back at Tech\u2019s yearlong celebration"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;ASTOUNDING ELEMENTS,\u0026rdquo; an exhibit in Crosland Tower opening on Nov. 7, celebrates elements \u0026ndash; real and fictional \u0026ndash; and looks back at some events and artifacts from activities led by the College of Sciences.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Exhibit highlights elements in fiction; looks back at Tech\u2019s yearlong celebration."}],"uid":"30678","created_gmt":"2019-10-31 18:50:36","changed_gmt":"2019-11-04 19:53:51","author":"A. 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