Making Memories: Neurons, Quantum Computing, and Art

Making Memories: Neurons, Quantum Computing, and Art

Author: International Festival of Arts & Ideas October 8, 2025 Duration: 36:04

In this fascinating talk, we explore the unexpected connections between neuroscience, quantum computing, and visual art through a unique interdisciplinary collaboration at Yale University.

This talk features a panel discussion following the screening of a documentary about Italian visual artist Serena Campini, who served as an artist-in-residence at the Yale Quantum Institute. Through her residency, Campini created stunning multilayered artworks inspired by both neurological imaging and quantum states of light.

Our guests include:
Serena Campini, visual artist and art historian who has spent over a decade collaborating with neuroscientists and quantum researchers
Michael Higley, neuroscientist at Yale Medical School whose lab studies synapses and memory formation
Harshvardhan “Harsh” Babla, a PhD student researching quantum error correction and extending quantum memory
Donna Fetis, gerontologist and educator specializing in aging, caregiving, and dementia
Florian Carle, representing the Yale Quantum Institute

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From the vibrant stages and conversations of New Haven's International Festival of Arts & Ideas comes Great Art, Big Ideas, a podcast that captures the festival's spirit of curious collision. Here, a choreographer might explain the geometry of movement alongside a physicist, or a playwright's process illuminates a community's untold history. This isn't a lecture series; it's a collection of dialogues where artistic practice and intellectual inquiry are inseparable, exploring everything from the deeply serious to the delightfully whimsical. Each episode is built on the belief that a novel and a scientific hypothesis can spark similar wonder, and that a performance can challenge assumptions as powerfully as a debate. You'll hear artists, thinkers, and innovators discuss the pressing topics that shape our local communities and the wider world, offering perspectives that often subvert expectations. Tuning into this podcast means accessing the festival's eclectic programming year-round, discovering how a single idea, examined through different lenses, can fundamentally shift your point of view. The conversations are designed to linger, prompting new connections long after the episode ends. It’s for anyone who finds fuel in the space where disciplines meet, where a big idea gives art its resonance and great art makes an idea tangible.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 37

Great Art, Big Ideas
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