Abstract
Common practices of communicating scientific data are through written (i.e., journals, reports, and articles) or visual (graphs, tables, and charts) means. Aural techniques beyond conference talks and presentations are often overlooked but can be a useful tool for scientists to capitalize on. Aural representations of data, including sonifications, may reveal trends not captured in standard data analysis techniques. Musical portrayals of data also provide an under-explored avenue for sharing science with the public.
As an exercise in collaborating between scientists and musicians, students in the Frost School of Music (University of Miami, FL) worked with a marine biologist to write several original compositions based on the same dataset of coral larvae swimming. Composers were encouraged to interact with the data as much or as little as they wanted, resulting in several new compositions. Some composers wrote in a more traditional, Western style inspired by watching videos of larvae swimming, and other composers used a stricter sonification approach to the data.
This presentation, presented by marine biologist Dr. Melissa Ruszczyk, will discuss the motivation behind this Music from Science collaboration, some of the pieces performed at a Music from Science concert in April 2025, and will reflect cultivating effective science-music collaborations.
Bio
Dr. Ruszczyk is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology at Keuka College. She holds a B.S. in Biology and Music from Allegheny College (2017), a Ph.D. in Ocean Science and Engineering with a minor in Applied Mathematics from the Georgia Institute of Technology (2022) and has worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Prakash Biophysics Lab at the University of Miami (2022-2025).
Outside of the lab, Melissa is an avid local musician, playing clarinet, saxophone, and flute. She has privately taught clarinet, performed in orchestras for community musical theater productions, and is an active member in several community bands – including Peachtree Symphonic Winds (2017-2022), Northwinds Symphonic Band (2018-2022), and the Greater Miami Symphonic Band (2022-2025).
Melissa’s research focuses on the interactions between an organism’s physical environment and its resulting morphology and ecology, particularly in planktonic species. As an interdisciplinary scientist, Melissa uses concepts and techniques across disciplines to study, understand, and communicate concepts across seemingly unrelated fields – in this case, marine biology and music.