Science and art collaborations have a long history. The concept immediately calls up Leonardo da Vinci, though the story goes back to cave paintings, and is having a new Renaissance since the mid-twentieth century, as digital technologies, information access, education and social needs proliferate. IBM, Bell Labs and Xerox PARC set early example for corporate support and involvement, especially for art and technology. The NSF, NIH, DARPA, NEA, other federal agencies and private foundations are now increasingly interested in understanding and funding art/science projects. Trans-disciplinary programs are active in most research universities, and recently, STEM education initiatives began to add an A: full STEAM ahead. Creativity and innovation are the ‘hot’ key-words for economic revitalization, second only to sustainability.
