Mixing music and science: IU student shares 'The Sound of Molecules' at WonderLab

Do re mi, X-ray, MRI. Are molecules musical as well as scientific? WonderLab says yes.

What do molecules sound like? Although others have done molecule-sound work, college undergrad Walker Smith is breaking down — and hamming up — complicated facts, to enlighten all kinds of audiences for his show "The Sound of Molecules," coming to Bloomington's science museum, WonderLab.

Smith's chemistry-class lecture notes have ended up as musical notes. Since ninth grade, Smith, an Indiana University chemistry and music student, has been trying to represent chemistry musically, morphing his research into music. And he has kept it dynamically fun while preserving the scientific integrity. WonderLab is hosting his "The Sound of Molecules" Sept. 17 and 18 in four performances.

After studying electronic music at IU while also learning about scientific research, presenting and composing, Smith honed his science-and-music show. He also stars as the show's two characters.

Adapting the show for WonderLab

WonderLab is only one of the venues hosting Smith's 45-minute program, and he has adapted it for WonderLab's specific audience. Music, lasers, chemistry and jokes will educate and entertain. Smith, the show's creator (with generous assistance including funding and guidance from individuals and organizations) plays both Maestro Molecules and Roy G. Biv (as in a rainbow's red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet).

Maestro Molecules opens the show; Roy G. Biv is his prize pupil. While Maestro enthuses about the type of light our human eyes are unable to see, Biv raves about his fondness of colors, which is the light we can see.

Thoughts about light and sound

As Smith formed his science-music ideas, he said over the phone, he kept wondering, "What if there was a way to turn light into sound?"

At IU, Smith studies both organic chemistry and music composition and uses the nuclear magnetic resonance technique —in which a big magnet explores atomic nuclei — to analyze molecules. Chemists use the light spectrum to learn about molecules; Smith, however, saw a connection to a different spectrum: sounds.

According to science.nasa.gov, the human eye can see wavelengths in the "visible light" portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. All electromagnetic radiation is light; humans, however, see just a segment of it. Each color's wavelength is different, with red having the longest and violet the shortest.

Referring to spectroscopy (which looks at the electromagnetic spectra, wavelength, electromagnetic radiation and matter), Smith said, "Who’s to say those frequencies (number of wave vibrations for each unit time) couldn’t be sound frequencies?”

Think about medicine's MRI machine: Smith said it uses a region of the electromagnetic spectrum that people cannot see. Think, too, about an X-ray, which he said interacts with matter to give us a picture of bones. "X-rays tell us the skeleton of a molecule."

Combining his three passions — communication, composition and chemistry — provides Smith with his "Triangle of the Three C's."

"Walker Smith is one of the most innovative Jacobs School of Music student's I've come across," said Alain Barker, of the Center for Rural Engagement and director of Music Entrepreneurship and Career Development. "(Smith's) project has now gathered support from the IU Center for Rural Engagement, which enables it to be produced and shared among schools in rural communities. I see a big future for both Walker and Dr. Molecules!"

Bridging STEM and the arts

Smith's colleague on other projects, Alex Tedrow, said, "(Smith) is fantastic and his ('Sound of Molecules') project is super innovative." Tedrow is pursuing both a master's of music and master's of science degree in composition and music education at the IU Jacobs School of Music. Regarding Smith's current project, Tedrow said, "It embraces the kind of interdisciplinary thinking that is so much in need in our field right now. Not only is it educational, but it bridges the gap between STEM and the arts, a gap that is prominently evident in many K-12 curriculums."

Tedrow noted that Smith's music-molecules project is letting students who are uninterested in science find a fascinating link between their love of music and technology. On the other hand, Tedrow hopes this might invite STEM students to explore the similarities of arts, culture and humanities and their scientific fields of study.

"Because of specialization, we sometimes forget that many beautiful connections exist naturally in our world, and I think Walker’s project brilliantly brings those connections to life in a really tangible way."

Who is creator Walker Smith?

Smith is the winner of the 2022 Annual Project Jumpstart Innovation Competition, hosted by the IU Center for Rural Engagement and the Kelley School's Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Last year he won a Goldwater Scholarship, a distinguished U.S. gift honoring soon-to-be mathematicians, scientists and engineers. He then worked at Eli Lilly in Indianapolis as an intern.

After graduation, Smith plans to earn a Ph.D. in organic chemistry.

If you go

WHAT: The Sound of Molecules: A melodic science show about sound on the molecular level. It shows the fun-filled and educational aspects of creator Walker Smith's research as well as meeting classroom science standards.

WHEN: 11 a.m. –noon and 4 p.m. Sept. 17; 2-3 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sept. 18

WHERE: WonderLab Museum of Science, Technology, and Health, 308 W. Fourth St.

TICKETS: Free with admission to museum, for scientists of all ages, parents, teachers and kids. General admission is $14, and children younger than 1 get in free.

MORE: The Sound of Molecules show is made possible by a partnership with WonderLab, the Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement and the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. For more about WonderLab, go to wonderlab.org or WonderLab’s Facebook page.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: 'The Sound of Molecules' mixes science, music in show at WonderLab