An exhilarating experience
WEP Chair Professor Gilles Lubineau opens proceedings at the 2017 WEP Final Gala and Awards Ceremony.
“Engineering shapes our future—as it has also shaped our past. The limits of our world are changing every day—what you know today will change in 10 years, and this is something that will affect your science,” he said.
The opening act for the night was the “Sanddorn Balance” performance by Miyoko Shida Rigolo, a Japanese artist, dancer and choreographer. In a spellbinding 15-minute performance of concentration, mindfulness and conscious perception, Rigolo created a spontaneous artwork consisting of 13 dry palm leaf ribs. The piece, which she constructed using her hands and feet to add one palm leaf rib on top of another or through others to create a latticework rib cage, resembled an animal’s skeleton in the end.
Riogolo then lifted the delicate structure to the crown of her head and balanced it there, spinning her work around her. As it spun around her, it seemed as if she became part of her creation.
The evening's entertainment finished with a Javanese shadow puppet performance of the “Ramayana Epic” by a group from the Sonobudoyo Museum, Yogyakarta, Java. The renowned Hindu epic, which originated in India centuries ago, was performed by a shadow puppet master supported by a group of musicians and a singer.
During the performance, the puppet master, who also acted as narrator, moved the ornate, flat puppets behind a white fabric screen. With a light on the other side of the screen, he created shadows of the puppets and their movements. This ancient method of storytelling has been preserved in Java for centuries and was designated by UNESCO in 2003 as a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.”
In their closing remarks, both Lubineau and Marie-Laure Boulot, manager of Enrichment Programs, thanked those in attendance and those who had attended all of the events during WEP 2017. They also thanked the departments and volunteers who helped in supporting the events.
From the deep sea to deep space, from hyperloops to Strandbeests, from base jumping to calligraphy, from mega projects to biomimetic models, and from building robots to bird watching and everything in between, the WEP 2017 was a resounding success, showing what is possible when you challenge and push the limits of engineering and science.
- By David Murphy, KAUST News
The University’s eighth annual Winter Enrichment Program (WEP) concluded on January 19 with the Final Gala and Awards Ceremony in the Auditorium. WEP Chair Professor Gilles Lubineau began proceedings by recognizing the effort of everyone involved in the successful production of the two-week program.
The shape of our future
Lubineau highlighted the role one of the main themes of the program plays in our everyday lives.“Engineering shapes our future—as it has also shaped our past. The limits of our world are changing every day—what you know today will change in 10 years, and this is something that will affect your science,” he said.
The opening act for the night was the “Sanddorn Balance” performance by Miyoko Shida Rigolo, a Japanese artist, dancer and choreographer. In a spellbinding 15-minute performance of concentration, mindfulness and conscious perception, Rigolo created a spontaneous artwork consisting of 13 dry palm leaf ribs. The piece, which she constructed using her hands and feet to add one palm leaf rib on top of another or through others to create a latticework rib cage, resembled an animal’s skeleton in the end.
Riogolo then lifted the delicate structure to the crown of her head and balanced it there, spinning her work around her. As it spun around her, it seemed as if she became part of her creation.
Javanese shadow puppet performance of the “Ramayana Epic” by a group from the Sonobudoyo Museum, Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia.
‘An exhilarating experience’
Following on Rigolo’s performance, the winners of the WEP KAUST Research Poster Competition, International Undergraduate Poster and Science Fair were announced. Dean of Graduate Affairs Brian Moran noted that the Research poster presentations were “polished, professional and impressive,” adding, “I speak for the whole panel when I say it was an exhilarating experience choosing the winning posters.”The evening's entertainment finished with a Javanese shadow puppet performance of the “Ramayana Epic” by a group from the Sonobudoyo Museum, Yogyakarta, Java. The renowned Hindu epic, which originated in India centuries ago, was performed by a shadow puppet master supported by a group of musicians and a singer.
During the performance, the puppet master, who also acted as narrator, moved the ornate, flat puppets behind a white fabric screen. With a light on the other side of the screen, he created shadows of the puppets and their movements. This ancient method of storytelling has been preserved in Java for centuries and was designated by UNESCO in 2003 as a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.”
A resounding success
In their closing remarks, both Lubineau and Marie-Laure Boulot, manager of Enrichment Programs, thanked those in attendance and those who had attended all of the events during WEP 2017. They also thanked the departments and volunteers who helped in supporting the events. From the deep sea to deep space, from hyperloops to Strandbeests, from base jumping to calligraphy, from mega projects to biomimetic models, and from building robots to bird watching and everything in between, the WEP 2017 was a resounding success, showing what is possible when you challenge and push the limits of engineering and science.
- By David Murphy, KAUST News