EvoGrid

Rammy Elsaadany, a Masters of Architecture student at the Bartlett school of architecture, has just completed a collaborative film with Bruce Damer about the proposed EVOGRID project.

The film connects together a simplified version of the scientific narrative and also a conceptual development of what could possibly happen once the EVOGRID project is established. Rammy used a variety of techniques to achieve this film, including 3d modeling, compositing, and green screen. The software used includes 3D Max, After Effects, Premiere and Sound Booth.

I had the pleasure of hanging out with Bruce for a week recently. One of the most interesting people I have ever met (and I have met a lot of interesting people). More about the EvoGrid project here.

This research proposal rests on the hypothesis that it is possible to create a simulation, the “EvoGrid”, utilizing a large interconnected grid of computers which could plausibly model the pre-biotic chemical environment which was the precursor stage to evolution and life arising on Earth. The key innovation over previous efforts will be the use of a level testing function (Gordon, 2000) that searches for emergent complex self-organization within the discrete element system of the simulation, focusing computing resources and tuning parameters in order to permit the system to drive itself towards ever more complex emergent structures and processes. Research outcomes from the EvoGrid project may shed light on the origins of life on Earth and in the universe, and provide new tools for evolutionary biology, biochemistry, and complexity studies.