Human senses highlight April 13 Science Café

Touch, sight, smell, hearing, taste. These are the senses every human being relies upon for a rich and full life.

The team behind two of the Common Senses Festival art and science installations that explore human senses now on display at KANEKO will discuss their research on autism and neurodiversity during the next virtual Science Café at 9 a.m. on April 13.

Presenters include Michael Hollins, director of community and business engagement for the iEXCEL program at UNMC; James Coleman, a doctoral student at Princeton University; and Matthew Goodwin, PhD, interdisciplinary associate professor with joint appointments in the Bouvé College of Health Sciences and Khoury College of Computer Science.

The two installations demonstrate a proof-of-concept project that determines if affective and physiological regulation in individuals with autism can be promoted through dynamic adjustments in the ambient environment, Hollins said.

“In short, light, sound, smell and other sensorial stimuli within a space are designed to adjust to accommodate end-user comfort and enjoyment,” he said.

Focusing on neurodiverse individuals and those on the autism spectrum, Coleman and Dr. Goodwin’s biosensor and atmosphere generating technologies create an interconnected relationship between the mood of the user and stimuli of their environment.

“Think of a prescriptive environment that uses sensors to assess a person’s arousal state and then adjusts (lighting, sound, projections) to help someone self-regulate,” Hollins said.

The virtual Science Café will be offered via Zoom and livestreamed to the Science Cafe Facebook page. Viewers do not need a Facebook account to view the livestream.

Register here for the Zoom link.

Science Cafés involve a conversation with an expert about current science topics. They are open to everyone. Each meeting is organized around an interesting topic of conversation. Experts give a brief presentation followed by a question and answer period.