Fiorella Terenzi | |
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Born | 1961 or 1962 (age 61–63) Milan, Italy |
Nationality | Italian/American |
Alma mater | University of Milan, Italy (doctorate/PhD), University of California, San Diego (visiting researcher) |
Occupation(s) | Astrophysicist, professor, author, recording artist Fields: Astronomy, astrophysics, space science, planetary science, education, public outreach, innovations, music |
Organization(s) | Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA |
Known for | Acoustic astronomy, music from the galaxies, invisible universe, audiofication/sonification of celestial data, Heavenly Knowledge |
Fiorella Terenzi | |
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Labels | Island/PolyGram Records, Mercury records, Giant/Warner Bros. Records |
Fiorella Terenzi is an Italian-born astrophysicist, author and recording artist who is best known for taking recordings of radio waves from distant galaxies and turning them into music. She received her doctorate from the University of Milan but is currently based in the United States.
Described by Time magazine as "a cross between Carl Sagan and Madonna",[1] Terenzi has studied opera and composition at Conservatory G. Verdi, Corsi Popolari Serali and taught physics and astronomy at various U.S. colleges and universities; she is currently on the full-time faculty at Florida International University in Miami.[2][3][4] In research at the Computer Audio Research Laboratory, University of California, San Diego, she pioneered techniques to convert radio waves emanating from distant galaxies into sound,[5][6] with some of the results released by Island Records on her CD Music from the Galaxies.[7][8][9] The goal of her audiofication/sonification of celestial data is to investigate how sound could reflect chemical, dynamical and physical properties of celestial objects, which she calls "Acoustic Astronomy".[10]