On the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 16, the Fredrickson Family Innovation Lab (FFIL) — the College of Arts and Sciences’ research and transformative education hub — will welcome artist Eva Lee for a free virtual lecture entitled “Hearing a Who: Dr. Seuss, the Nature of Mind, and Intelligent Technology” at 7 p.m.

“Lee’s work spans many academic, artistic, and spiritual disciplines,” said Mehmet Cansoy, PhD, assistant professor of sociology & anthropology, and co-director of the FFIL. “We hope that our students, faculty and community members will find her work and ideas as fascinating as we do!”

Lee will present her work Dual Brains, a collaborative EEG data-driven performance inspired by scientific studies on human neural interdependence. (EEG stands for “electroencephalography” which is an electrophysiological process to record the changes in electrical activity of the brain.) She will discuss the embodied mind in the context of Buddhist philosophy and meditation, and its potential significance in the continued development of intelligent technology.

Lee credits having read Dr. Seuss's storybook Horton Hears a Who as a child for inspiring her to wonder about the nature of mind and reality. This has led her down interdisciplinary paths that include collaborations with neuroscientists to visualize brain data, documenting Tibetan meditative practices, and creating animations.

Lee’s experimental animations have been screened in film festivals in the U.S. and abroad, as well as exhibited in galleries and museums, most recently at the Louisiana Art & Science Museum. Awards include fellowships from Fulbright, the Asian Cultural Council, the MacDowell, and the Mind & Life Summer Research Institute.

Established in 2019 through the generosity of Fairfield Stagmates Scott and Susan Fredrickson ’82, the state-of-the-art FFIL provides College of Arts and Sciences students and faculty with a physical and digital gathering space for interdisciplinary research, instruction, and cross-pollination.

For the spring semester, the co-directors of the FFIL — Dr. Cansoy and Jo Yarrington, MFA, professor of visual and performing arts — have created a schedule of free programming open to Fairfield students, and webinar lectures that are open to students, the Fairfield community, and the general public.

Upcoming FFIL Events
Advanced registration is required.

Through a Different Lens Innovation Lab Lectures Series:
Kyle Whyte
“Indigenous Peoples and the Energy Transition: Ethics, Justice, and Partnership”
Wednesday, April 6 | 7 p.m.

Steve Lambert
“All Successful Activism has been Artistic Activism”
Wednesday, March 2 | 7 p.m.

Workshops for Fairfield Students:
Qualtrics 
Thursday, March 3 | 8 p.m. 
Registration and more details through Life@Fairfield.

Adobe Creative Suite: Cheryl Yun 
Wednesday, March 23 | 5 p.m. 
Registration and more details through Life@Fairfield.