March 10, 2025
In partnership with NYU Abu Dhabi, MATTER brought together new media artists from our initiative, ART Proxima, and desert scholars from NYUAD for the “XPANSE in the Desert” Workshop, a deep dive into the desert’s complexities as a living system, to explore emerging research in the UAE and prepare for the next theme of XPANSE II - The Desert.
Dr. Ghazi Al-Mulaifi (Assistant Professor of Music, NYUAD) shared his insights into music as a historical record shaped by desert migration, Dr. Panče Naumov (Professor of Chemistry, NYUAD) uncovered how native plants engineer their own survival in extreme conditions, and Dr. Tarek Abdoun (Program Head of Civil and Urban Engineering, NYUAD) explored the challenges of building civilizations in the sand and designing resilient infrastructure for desert environments.
Knowledge shared laid the foundation for artistic curiosity, inquiries, the new emerging creative process, leading to a collective work of art between artists and scientists to be presented at the 2nd edition of XPANSE.
What is ART Proxima?
ART Proxima, an initiative of MATTER, is a first-of-its-kind collective of new media artists and scientists united to co-create works of art at the intersection of science, creativity and deep research. Co-curated with Dr. Zina Jarrahi Cinker and Soliman Lopez, it premiered at XPANSE, hosting 20 international artists and 7 sci-art installations. Read more about ART Proxima
In partnership with NYU Abu Dhabi, MATTER brought together new media artists from our initiative, ART Proxima, and desert scholars from NYU Abu Dhabi for the “XPANSE in the Desert” Workshop, in preparation tp the next theme of XPANSE 2nd Edition - The Desert.
In partnership with Layers of Reality at IDEAL Barcelona, 3rd MATTER Annual Meet-Up was held, bringing together MATTERSPHERE, XPANSE, and PUZZLE X partners & friends.
XPANSE advisory council members and key partners gathered for an evening of deep discussion on the next theme of XPANSE 2nd Edition and the desert’s profound significance.
I am curious guy working and learning in science, technology and commercial development.
In my whole career as a biophysicist, brain scientist and now as biotechnologist, I have always been most productive at the interface between science - exploring and understanding – and Technology - designing and building.
I am a dedicated materials scientist passionate about pioneering advancements in smart and sustainable materials that will redefine industries and improve everyday life.
I’m a mathematician who got lost and ended up finding interesting questions in physics and philosophy and spends a lot of time thinking about the universe.
Professor Yahya Zweiri, Department of Aerospace Engineering, and Director of the Advanced Research & Innovation Center (ARIC) at Khalifa University, UAE.
I’m a computational scientist on a mission to push the boundaries of knowledge using the unmatched power of supercomputers and simulation
I am a scientist. With over 15 years of experience in quantum photonics labs, and a passion for the Space sector, I focus on merging the best of both worlds to enhance our everyday life.
I am a scientist. With over 15 years of experience in quantum photonics labs, and a passion for the Space sector, I focus on merging the best of both worlds to enhance our everyday life.
I am the founder and CEO of Cortical Labs. I was previously the CTO and founder of a medtech company making Internet-connected medical devices called CliniCloud. Before CliniCloud, I was a medical doctor doing my residency in Emergency Medicine. I am also a software developer and have worked on apps and machine learning research.
I am a Space scientist. Whatever flies in outer Space, I am in!
My name is Arben Merkoçi and I am ICREA Professor and Group Leader at Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, ICN2, in Barcelona.
I am a Materials Scientist and currently serve as the Group Leader of the Nanofabrication and Devices Group at the Center for Nanoscale Materials, Argonne National Laboratory.
Since I was five years old I have been fascinated by using computers to extend human capabilities. My company makes a platform that supports this goal and then we use this platform to implement solutions for companies around the world. (You could say I support human augmentation / cyborgification).
I am a neurobiologist working to understand how the human brain is built in health and disease.
I am a materials science researcher who is fascinated by challenges in Space that are cross-cutting and are useful on earth as well.