On February 22, we had the chance of welcoming PhD students in Art and Design from the Bauhaus University in Weimar, led by Prof. Alexandra Toland. The goal of this first meeting between the two Thuringian institutes was to know each other with the idea of fostering future collaborations between art students and scientists.
The visit started with a tour of the 2m-Alfred Jensch telescope by Eike Guenther and an explanation of the LOFAR radio telescope by Alexander Drabent. Then, roundtable conversations organized by Harriet von Froreich (Bauhaus U.) and Patrick Gaulme (TLS) gathered about 15 scientists and 10 art researchers to exchange ideas across disciplines regarding questions of time, distance, types of data, and the challenges and joys of developing methods in practicing research. The meeting was followed by a get together. Next visit is scheduled in June, hoping for clear skies to see the telescope at work during a short near-solstice night.
