Karl Cronin (movement artist)

Karl Cronin is a process artist interested in how personal physical histories are stored and communicated. In recent years, he has focused his work on creating ritualized practices that encourage participants to observe and reflect upon their somatic sensations in relation to specific environments and situations. Cronin took an extended break from performing between 2000-2004 to study cognitive development at Harvard’s Lab for Developmental Studies and the neural correlates of  music training at Harvard Medical Schools’ Music Neuroimaging Lab. Karl Cronin’s publications from his work during this period have appeared in Brain and Cognition, The Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, and Neuroreport.

Cronin returned to performing and creating choreography in 2004, and has since presented several works that blend together art practice and scientific process. This work has been performed at the Boston Institute of Contemporary Art, Green Street Studio, The Dance Complex, and in site-specific performances in over 14 states.  He has been awarded an Emerging Artist award from Green Street Studios (Cambridge, MA), Somerville Arts Council Choreography Fellowship (Somerville, MA), and a creative residency at the Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Art, Nature and Dance (iLAB 2008, NYC). In July 2008 he was awarded a Movement Research Artist Residency (NYC), and is delighted to be developing his work with this organization.

Dr. William Forbes (geographer)

William Forbes holds a Ph.D. in environmental science and is an assistant professor of geography at Stephen F. Austin State University, located in East Texas. His research interests lie in geographic education, environmental philosophy, and integrating historic sense of place with current economies. Dr. Forbes’ publications have appeared in the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers Yearbook, Southwestern Geographer, Geography in America at the Dawn of the Twenty-First Century, Encyclopedia of World Geography, Sustainable Communities Review, Ecological Restoration, Journal of Forestry, Wild Earth, and the Encyclopedia of World Environmental History.

Dr. Forbes is a certified forester, having worked as a professional forester in Oregon before graduate studies. He conducted his Ph.D. dissertation research in Chihuahua, Mexico, updating a site noted for perfect land health in the 1930s by renowned ecologist Aldo Leopold. Dr. Forbes has a certificate in geographic information systems. He is currently working with the Columbia Regional Geospatial Service Center, affiliated with his university, to involve communities in projects that combine geospatial technology and increased awareness of their natural environment. The Center was formed after the Columbia space shuttle tragedy occurred in the East Texas region. It specializes in extension of geospatial technology, including geographic information systems and global positioning systems, to regional municipalities and organizations.

Carl Tashian (green technologist)

Carl is a technologist, interaction designer, and new media artist in his early thirties. Before starting Aloka, he was employee #8 at Zipcar, where he was responsible for much of the service’s technology architecture, interaction design, and end-to-end web, database, and vehicle telemetry system development as Zipcar grew from 25 cars in Boston to over 2,500 cars internationally. Before that, he co-founded a community system, home.cwru.edu, for students, faculty, and alumni at his college. He also built How Do They Do That With HTML?, a website helped millions of people learn HTML. And as the lead developer for HexOnyx, an early online multi-player game, he molded the player experience by creating a virtual economy and in-game real estate market. He has a BSE in Computer Engineering from Case Western Reserve University.