DEUTSCH
Prof. Dr. Loren K. Rhodes from Juniata College held the compact course "Music and Computing" on the Steinfurt campus of Münster UAS for two weeks. (Photo: Münster UAS/Jana Bade)

Münster/Steinfurt (27. Juni 2022). When the shanty "Drunken Sailor" and the lullaby "Twinkle, twinkle, litte star" sound in slightly modified form from the laboratory for databases at Münster UAS, it can only mean one thing: Prof. Dr. Loren K. Rhodes of Juniata College is back. Now a professor emeritus of information technology, he has regularly offered the compact course "Music and Computing" for computer science students for several years. Because of Corona, he was unable to make the usual two-year trip from Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, to the Steinfurt campus. He and his now good friend Prof. Dr. Thomas Weik from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science were therefore all the more delighted that they were finally able to continue their university cooperation on site with a personal reunion. 

Six Steinfurt students and three visiting American students spent two weeks experimenting with how to produce and transform their own music using special software. "The software was originally developed to teach the Python programming language," explained the American university lecturer. "Now we use the software primarily for music creation through programming. One example technique used is called sonification, which converts data into sounds." Rhodes, who plays keyboard and organ himself, sees many similarities between computer science and music. "Music theory is very mathematical. For example, each note has a numerical value that indicates how long it will play." A survey at the beginning of the course revealed that about half of the participants also play an instrument. "However, previous musical experience is not a must. Here, students can learn about the creative side of computer science, for example by converting pixels into sounds or randomly enriching familiar melodies with new harmonies," Rhodes emphasizes.

Flying to Germany this time was an exciting endeavor for the normally travel-experienced emeritus professor. "It's nice to be able to visit other countries again. However, the many Corona rules, which change frequently and differ everywhere, definitely stressed me out," he admits. He also said the risk of contracting corona while traveling or on site worried him. However, Juniata College's International Office encouraged him and his three students to make the trip and take care of everything in case of an emergency. "We all benefit from this international exchange," Weik says. "It's nice that after several online semesters, our students were able to take an English-language course offered on site again and make contacts with our American guests." Then next year, Prof. Dr. Gerald Kruse, professor of mathematics, IT and computer science at Juniata College, will be back to teach "Math Modeling."

On the topic:
The cooperation between the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Münster University of Applied Sciences and Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, has existed since 2005, with Prof. Dr. Gerald Kruse and Prof. Dr. Loren K. Rhodes teaching a compact course for electrical engineering and computer science students on the Steinfurt campus every summer. The exchange is also active in the area of student mobility: every spring, two students from Münster UAS visit Juniata College and vice versa.

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