FLUXNET, a global network of carbon flux towers tying together regional networks of earth system scientists, has announced their new FLUXNET artist-in-residency program. This National Science Foundation-funded pilot program was created in partnership with the Patricia Valian Reser Center for the Creative Arts.

During the one-year program, flux scientists and artist will engage in collaborative inquiry and curiosity-driven exploration about FLUXNET and their shared interests.

Sara Bouchard, adjunct instructor in the Department of Kinetic Energy at VCUarts, has been named FLUXNET artist-in-residence at the carbon flux tower located at VCU Rice Rivers Center.  Bouchard is a VCUarts instructor, multidisciplinary artist and composer. She teaches a class on data sonification, which is the representation of information through sound.

Christopher Gough, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Department of Biology in the College of Humanities and Sciences, leads the flux tower research at the center.

Bouchard’s data sonification class was the focus of a recent VCU News article, “The sound of science: VCU students compose electronic music that incorporates environmental data gathered at VCU Rice Rivers Center.”

This interdisciplinary collaboration includes VCU School of the Arts, Rice Rivers Center, VCU Department of Biology, FLUXNET (a global network of carbon flux towers), and the National Science Foundation.