Department of Art & Design Assistant Professor Sue Huang (pictured) has been named the inaugural Rutgers–New Brunswick Laureate. Huang will hold the Laureate position through the 2025–26 academic year while creating an artistic work delving into speculative design, sci-fi worldbuilding, and cross-disciplinary research in order to examine extinction and ecological loss resulting from climate change.
According to the Office of the Chancellor, Huang uses “computational processes, performance, and cross-disciplinary approaches that bridge the arts and sciences.” In fact, exploring and bolstering connections between the arts and the sciences is cited as a critical aspect of the new Laureate Program. Huang’s recent research has focused on multimedia performance as a tool to gain understanding of ecological relationships and scientific inquiry. Her work has been presented at The Tech Interactive IMAX with SynBioBeta in San Jose and MAXmachina in New York, and is forthcoming at the 2025 BDC Summit, hosted at the Titus Theater at MoMA in New York.
According to the Chancellor’s office, Huang’s laureate project, called Bodies of Flora, “will explore botanical loss and the potential for resurrecting vanished flora within the cultural imagination through performance.” The project will feature a collaboration between the Department of Art & Design and the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences’ Chrysler Herbarium and Department of Plant Biology.
Saundra Tomlinson-Clarke, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, says the Laureate Program was established “to elevate the arts and humanities across our institution and the broader community.” Tomlinson-Clarke says that a new laureate will be selected annually to nurture that connection.
Tomlinson-Clarke adds that Huang’s project proposal “reflects the spirit of the Laureate Program by merging academic inquiry with public engagement and creating space for cross-campus and cross-community dialogue. The Laureate selection committee noted the project’s potential to connect students and faculty across departments and to create new opportunities for community-based learning and expression. Bodies of Flora will also highlight underrecognized regional ecologies, offering a compelling example of how creative research can help surface new perspectives on climate, place, and the environment.”