Conversations on the Edge #1
The first evening of the discussion series Conversations on the Edge, organized by the AVL Cultural Foundation, was dedicated to the topic in/visible. Exploring Invisible Realms of Science. The discussion series is designed as a unique meeting place for interdisciplinary dialog and inspiration.
The focus of the dialogical exchange was on the invisible dimensions of science, illuminated from the perspectives of supposedly divergent disciplines. Michael Doser is a physicist at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). Silvia Wyder is an artist, art therapist and expert on art and health.
Together they gave insights into the discoveries they have made in hidden areas of science in the course of their respective research activities. They deciphered topics such as dark matter in physics and mental processes in art therapy and, during the dialog, explored differences but above all similarities between their fields of work. It became clear that both fields of research require innovative approaches to enable a deeper insight: be it through methodology, analysis, technologies or simply through creativity. The dialog revealed how knowledge is acquired – regardless of the respective discipline – and presented current results as well as far-reaching questions that can be applied to many areas of scientific research.
About the speakers
Michael Doser is a research physicist at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Geneva, Switzerland. He has specialized in working with antimatter, either using it as a tool (to study the strong interaction) or seeing it as a research object itself (formation of anti-atoms, exploration of matter-antimatter asymmetry, measurement of gravitational interaction between matter and antimatter, exotic atoms, novel qubits, etc.). For ten years he was spokesperson for the AEgIS experiment at CERN.
Silvia Wyder is a researcher in art and health, art therapist and artist. She studied art at various institutions in Switzerland and Japan and was a visiting artist at Stanford University before completing an MSc in Mental Health at Queen Mary University of London, where she studied Psychological Therapies. She then completed a PhD in Art and Health (Art Therapy and Cultural Studies) at the University of Derby, UK, and earned PhD in Philosophy.