UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The latest episode of the Growing Impact podcast features Mihyun Kang, the director for sustainability in the Penn State College of Arts and Architecture and a research professor in the Stuckeman School. Her research focuses on sustainable interior design and design for special populations. On the podcast, Kang discusses her recent seed grant project titled “Renewable Energy Art and Design,” which aims to develop a series of art installations that provide an opportunity for communities to engage with solar energy.
“We know that climate change threatens our human health and economic well-being, and it impacts our interaction with the built and natural environments,” Kang said. “I believe that if renewable energy is the long-term solution for a sustainable future, it should appear as something that we want to be engaged in and learn about it. So, I started exploring how to render this idea with the firm belief that clean energy will make a positive impact on climate change.”
According to Kang, the artistic practice of imagination, storytelling, music, dance, drama, visual art and design contribute to fostering human growth and development with a creative expression of the human experience.
“Artistic inquiry spurs our imagination and deepens our understanding of scientific knowledge,” she said.
Kang said two of the pieces that she and her team designed were inspired by nature, including the firefly and the mountain laurel. Another concept was inspired by social change that can be prompted by unity.
“Emotional engagement with human nature, culture and science can bring rationally sound and emotionally compelling solutions,” she said.
Growing Impact is a podcast by the Institutes of Energy and the Environment (IEE). It features Penn State researchers who have been awarded IEE seed grants and discusses their foundational work as they further their projects. The podcast is available on multiple platforms, including Apple, Google, Amazon and Spotify.