Enabling Quantum Leap: Using the Scientific Method to Create Theatre About Science

摘要：位于芝加哥大学分子工程研究所（IME）内的STAGE（科学家、技术人员和艺术家产生探索）实验室致力于科学家和艺术家之间有意义的合作。STAGE实验室受科学技术的启发，创作和开发情感上吸引人的、娱乐的戏剧和电影作品，并探索在其作品的舞台上使用新技术，向公众宣传科学和技术。利用模拟实验科学探索过程的创造性方法，一位博士后学者正在推动一个合作项目，以创建一个原创的戏剧剧本，在复杂的研究领域弥合公众认知和科学现实之间的差距，专注于量子力学领域。最终的作品促进了对关键科学主题的理解，更广泛地说，科学过程和发现的重要性，同时也解决了在公共领域促进对科学理解的需要。除了量子物理游戏《纠缠》，这位博士后学者还在合作开展关于食物科学、自然界对称性和人工智能的平行项目。在PI的指导下，这位博士后学者正在领导开发《纠缠》的各个方面，并利用芝加哥大学提供的资源将该剧推向公众演出。技术摘要：由博士后学者主导的剧场项目Entanglement，正在推动公众对量子信息这一复杂科学话题的理解和欣赏。《舞台》以其在科学主题和人类经验之间寻找微妙的相似之处和隐喻的方法，将这一主题的丰富性和细微差别转化为一种相关的表达形式。参与者包括来自各个学科的科学家、工程师、技术/媒体专家、专业艺术家（如演员、导演、作家、戏剧指导、电影摄影师、编辑以及布景、灯光、音响、投影和服装设计师）、本科生、研究生和博士后学者，所有人都尽可能同时工作。大部分剧本都是即兴创作的，每一次即兴创作都类似于一次实验，也就是说，即兴创作被用来产生和调查新的想法，并伴随着持续的分析和反馈。项目参与者权衡和检查每个即兴表演所揭示的内容，并且，就像科学家分析他们的结果并使用这些信息来修改实验一样，项目团队调整场景的环境并再次即兴表演以指导剧本的创作，以及最终将被公开执行的内容。此外，STAGE实验室有一个由量子物理学家和纳米技术专家组成的团队，他们正在积极合作完成这一戏剧作品。通过这个项目，学生、科学家和公众与芝加哥大学的学生和教师、海德公园周边社区、芝加哥南区和大芝加哥地区进行了接触，所有这些都提供了多元化、多元文化的受众，包括代表性不足的少数民族和高危学生。通过在STAGE实验室参与跨学科合作和独特的创造性方法，芝加哥大学的学生提高了他们工作的基本素质：直觉技能，自发思考和行动的能力，以及想象力，所有这些对科学实践都是无价的。这种意识提高了研究技能、教学效率和科学知识的传播。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Nontechnical Abstract:Embedded within the University of Chicago's Institute for Molecular Engineering (IME), STAGE (Scientists, Technologists and Artists Generating Exploration) is a laboratory devoted to meaningful collaborations among scientists and artists. The STAGE lab creates and develops emotionally engaging, entertaining theatre and film work inspired by science and technology, and explores the use of new technologies in the staging of its productions, to inform the public about science and technology. Utilizing a creative methodology modeled on the exploratory process of experimental science, a postdoctoral scholar is driving a collaborative project to create an original theatrical script that bridges the gap between public perception and scientific reality in complex research areas, focusing on the field of quantum mechanics. The culminating production fosters understanding of the key scientific theme, and more broadly, the scientific process and the importance of discovery, while also addressing the need to promote the understanding of the sciences in the public arena. In addition to the quantum physics play Entanglement, the postdoctoral scholar is collaborating on parallel projects about the science of food, symmetry in nature, and artificial intelligence. Under the mentorship of the PI, the postdoctoral scholar is leading all aspects of developing Entanglement and is driving the play to public performances using the resources available to them through the University of Chicago. Technical Abstract:The theatre project Entanglement, led by the postdoctoral scholar, is promoting the understanding and appreciation of the complex scientific topic of quantum information in the public arena. STAGE, with its method of finding subtle parallels and metaphors between scientific themes and human experience, is translating the richness and nuances of this topic into a relatable form of expression. Participants include scientists, engineers, technology/media experts, professional artists (e.g., actors, directors, writers, dramaturgs, cinematographers, editors, as well as set, lighting, sound, projection, and costume designers), and undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars from all disciplines, all working simultaneously whenever possible. Much of the script is created through improvisation, and each improvisation is akin to running an experiment, i.e., the improvisation is used to generate and investigate new ideas, with continuous analysis and feedback. The project participants weigh and examine what each improvisation reveals, and, just as scientists analyze their results and use that information to revise an experiment, the project team adjust the circumstances of a scenario and improvise again to guide the creation of the script, as well as what will eventually be performed publicly. Moreover, the STAGE lab has a team of quantum physicists and nanotechnology experts actively collaborating on the theatre piece. Through this project, students, scientists, and the public engage with the University of Chicago students and faculty, the surrounding neighborhoods of Hyde Park, Chicago's South Side, and the greater Chicago area, all of which provide a diverse, multicultural audience, including underrepresented minority and at-risk students. By engaging in interdisciplinary collaborations and unique creative methods in the STAGE lab, UChicago's students sharpen qualities fundamental to their work: intuitive skills, the ability to think and act spontaneously, and imagination, all of which are invaluable to the practice of science. This kind of awareness increases research skills, efficacy of teaching, and the communication of scientific knowledge.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.