Michael D’Aleo
Country of origin: USA
YIP Weekly Theme: Environment
Biography
Michael D’Aleo is a founding member of SENSRI (Saratoga Experiential Natural Science Research Institute) and is Director of Research. Michael holds a Mechanical Engineering degree from Rutgers University where he graduated summa cum laude. Earlier in his career, Michael was Project Leader in charge of New Product Development at Lutron Electronics. His main interest was to find solutions to technical problems that resulted in designs that were artistic and based on processes found in the natural world. Many of his 17 patents were the direct result of this interest. Michael also holds a Masters degree in education from Sunbridge College. He was a co-founder of the high school at the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springswhere he teaches physical science and mathematics. Michael is also an instructor in the summer Waldorf teacher education program at The Center for Anthroposophy in Wilton, NH, and in the year-round teacher education program at Sunbridge College in Spring Valley, NY. His current research focuses on applying principles of activity of water to technology, and on developing capacities of conscious sensory perception.
Workshop: Environmental Studies
Through a basic understanding of Steiner’s epistemology, one can see beyond the commonly portrayed polarity of destructive human activity on one hand and an imagined idyllic world that would exist if human beings just left the world alone. Can human activity become not only less destructive, but also add something new that wouldn’t exist in nature without human participation? Can human beings become truly constructive agents with the natural processes and rhythms of the world and add something new?
My intention is to help create a new more conscious understanding of our relationship to the world and recognize that our inner and outer worlds are in fact inseparably entwined. This is one of the key foundations for a New Environmental Aesthetic.