College of Arts and Architecture Appoints New Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies
November 18, 2005
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA — Gunalan Nadarajan, former dean of research and creative industries at the LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts in Singapore, was recently appointed associate dean for research and graduate studies in the College of Arts and Architecture. Nadarajan, who earned graduate degrees at the National University of Singapore and at the University of Warwick (United Kingdom), also previously served as dean of visual arts at the LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts.
An international art theorist and curator, Nadarajan has curated 15 exhibitions in several countries, including 180kg (Jogjakarta, Indonesia, 2002) and Negotiating Spaces (Auckland, New Zealand, 2004), and was contributing curator of Documenta XI (Kassel, Germany) and Mediacity 2002 (Seoul, South Korea). He has also served as jury for several international arts exhibitions, most recently for the International Symposium of Electronic Arts 2004 in Helsinki/Talinn and Transmediale 2005 in Berlin. His publications include a book, Ambulations (2000), on the aesthetic and architectural concomitants of walking, and many catalogue essays and academic articles on a wide range of topics in contemporary art, philosophy, new media and architecture. He is also corresponding editor/writer for Contemporary (United Kingdom) and Flash Art.
Nadarajan serves on the international advisory boards for the Database of Virtual Art (virtualart.hu-berlin.de/) and Refresh!: Conferences on the Histories of Media Arts, Sciences and Technologies. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Inter Society for the Electronic Arts, an international new media arts organization. In 2004, he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts (United Kingdom).
Nadarajan brings to the College of Arts and Architecture extensive experience working on and developing interdisciplinary research projects in virtual heritage, game development, art and biology, entertainment technologies, smart clothing, augmented reality, and ambient intelligence both with international research partners and relevant industries. His goal is to enhance the research and creative profile of the College of Arts and Architecture through a number of strategic planning initiatives, including the establishment of several research centers that synergize the research interests of faculty in the college; the development of interdisciplinary research collaborations between the college and other academic divisions of the University; a coordinated effort to increase the number of successful external grants issuing from the college; development of new inter-college graduate programs; and the establishment of international research and creative networks to complement research and graduate studies at the college.
Contact: Amy Milgrub Marshall, alm157@psu.edu or 814.863.2104