SWx TREC and CCAR aerospace engineering graduate students Valerie Bernstein and Vishal Ray have found a useful purpose for space debris—art.
The students, in partnership with local glass artist Bryan Goldfeder, created an art exhibit as part of the University of Colorado Boulder’s Office of Outreach and Engagement’s 2021 Art + Science + Action Cohort program. The initiative addresses interrelated social and environmental community issues connected to climate change in Colorado.
Bernstein and Ray’s exhibit, called “Waste in Space,” showcases space junk donated by CU’s aerospace department and Ball Aerospace as well as glass art pieces made by workshop participants. Their work is on display at the Arbor Institute through December 12.
As well as making art, Bernstein and Ray led a series of program workshops on the intersection of space junk, rural Colorado internet access, and recycled glass art.
To move pieces of space junk around a magnetic night sky, visit the Arbor Institute at 1708 13th Street in Boulder; or to learn more about the “Waste in Space” project, visit: https://outreach.colorado.edu/program/waste-in-space-a-human-centered-approach-to-exploring-sustainable-practices-in-near-earth-space/