By Molly Cuddy

In his presentation “Vestiges of Ice: Data, Digital Tools and Art,” Cy Keener discussed visiting places that are suffering from climate crises and presenting his findings in the form of art.

The event was part of the STEAM Salon Series, which combines the concepts of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and the arts. The STEAM Salons, according to head of research commons Kelsey Corlett-Rivera, started in the Fall 2016. They are hosted in the STEM library in William E. Kirwan Hall and the speakers are always university staff or students. 

Keener is an assistant professor of sculpture and emerging technology at this university. He was recently featured in Maryland Today for his art installation “Sea Ice 71.348778º N, 156.690918º W,” which documented how the thickness of ice changed over time in Alaska. The installation was held at the VisArts Center in Rockville, and the art was visible through a seventy-foot window so passersby could see it. 

“I felt like for a lot of my life climate change was this thing that was going to happen in the future,” Keener said. “And now climate change is a thing that has been happening and it’s been happening fairly drastically.”

During the talk, Keener talked about how he was able to learn about climate change and melting icebergs, glaciers and sea ice through his artwork and creating a virtual reality experience.

Keener understands that even through his art, he can’t preserve any of the Earth. However, he can bring awareness to the drasticity of climate change. 

“As an artist, my job is to go out and document these things,” he said.

The acronym STEAM is relatively new. For years, STEM and arts were seen as two separate entities. However, Keener, who studied fine arts and not anything STEM related, is able to combine science into his artwork. It shows there’s an intersection between the two that isn’t always recognized. 

Corlett-Rivera said through Keener’s talk, she was able to learn about science in a way that didn’t feel like she was learning science.

“This is science, but I’m not reading it in a scientific journal,” She said. “It’s like ‘every-man’ science.”

Jodi Coalter, a life sciences librarian at UMD, came to the salon because she thinks more people need to do what Keener is doing with his art – investigate scientific principles into it. As a scientist herself, she supports the cross over between STEM and the arts.

“Sometimes people don’t understand the science, but they understand the feeling behind art,” Coalter said.

According to Corlett-Rivera, the library hosts a STEAM Salon every semester. This semester, they will be hosting another one in December about artificial intelligence in libraries. There are also two more salons already scheduled for spring semester.