For the fall 2020 semester, Assistant Professor of Computer Science Sang Won Lee offered his students (mostly seniors) a rare chance to create an artifact of their choice in his Creative Computing Studio course. 

Eight diverse projects emerged around the themes of remote liveness and internet art, especially relevant given the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"Creativity is still an underexplored trait that we are not exactly sure how to facilitate," said Lee. "For that reason, creating computational systems that can promote people’s creativity is a significant challenge. Rather, one way that I define creativity from my own experience is that it is external recognition of creators’ tenacity, which manifests through artifacts."

Lee said  he saw the definition of creativity come to life in how the students approached the projects over the course of the semester. "I witnessed their hard work, not giving up, self-reflection, and collaboration, which constitute their creativity. I am proud of all the teams who successfully created an artifact that is functional and creative."