A new cohort of Ohio University Digital Art and Technology students visited the Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC) last fall to explore how high performance computing and artificial intelligence can support contemporary creative practice.
Ohio University Digital Art students pose with the Ascend cluster during a tour of the Ohio Supercomputer Center's data center in Columbus. Instructor Basil Masri Zada stands fifth from right.
Led by Ohio University faculty member Basil Masri Zada, the class toured OSC’s data center and engaged with the same AI-powered creative tools used during a previous student collaboration in 2024. After the tour, each participant worked with OSC’s AI resources to produce a unique digital artwork.
Students used OSC’s advanced computing environment to rapidly prototype, refine, and iterate on their concepts—an experience that highlights how access to shared HPC infrastructure can expand creative possibilities for artists.
The resulting works represent a wide range of visual approaches and personal themes and will be displayed as individual pieces within the OSC data center. The student artwork showcases the breadth of experimentation and creativity made possible through the collaboration.
This recurring partnership reflects OSC’s continued commitment to supporting emerging and non-traditional uses of advanced computing, while giving students real-world experience creating work connected to an active research facility.
Contributing artists include:
- Jorge Castillo Castro
- Wren Denny
- Hannah Knerr
- Minjoon Lee
- Shima Mousavizadeh Markieh
- Sara Pirahmadian
- Nesa Rasouli
- Addie Smith
- Gregg Sullivan
- Jabin Tasmin
- Elise Wrage
- Natalie Yan
The individual artwork created by each participant is shown below.
Jorge Castillo Castro
Prompt: Northwest Ohio, photorealistic, Leica camera, 35 mm, morning light, beach and mixed oak forest
Image copyright, Basil Masri Zada, Ohio University.
Jorge Castillo Castro
Prompt: Hocking Hills landscape, photorealistic, Leica camera, 35 mm, morning light, beach and mixed oak forest, southeast Ohio. deep canyons
Image copyright, Basil Masri Zada, Ohio University.
Jorge Castillo Castro
Prompt: Till Plains wide landscape, photorealistic, Leica camera, 35 mm, morning light, south west Ohio. Full color original vegetation
Negative prompt: no pastures. no crops
Image copyright, Basil Masri Zada, Ohio University.
Jorge Castillo Castro
Prompt: Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, wide landscape, photorealistic, Leica camera, 35 mm, morning light, North East Ohio, Oak sugar maple and beach forest, summer
Negative prompt: no pastures, no crops
Image copyright, Basil Masri Zada, Ohio University.
Wren Denny
Image copyright, Basil Masri Zada, Ohio University.
Hannah Knerr
Image copyright, Basil Masri Zada, Ohio University.
Minjoon Lee
Prompt: ai, wiring, cables, blue, cyber, light, body made out of figures
Image copyright, Basil Masri Zada, Ohio University.
Shima Mousavizadeh Markieh
Prompt: mechanical head
Negative prompt: background
Image copyright, Basil Masri Zada, Ohio University.
Shima Mousavizadeh Markieh
Prompt: Human vs machine vs machine intelligence
Negative prompt: background
Image copyright, Basil Masri Zada, Ohio University.
Shima Mousavizadeh Markieh
Prompt: Human vs machine vs machine intelligence
Negative prompt: background
Image copyright, Basil Masri Zada, Ohio University.
Sara Pirahmadian
Prompt: Future, carpet, Ohio Supercomputer Center, Al, Persian calligraphy
Image copyright, Basil Masri Zada, Ohio University.
Sara Pirahmadian
Prompt: Future, carpet, Ohio Supercomputer Center, Al, Persian calligraphy
Image copyright, Basil Masri Zada, Ohio University.
Sara Pirahmadian
Prompt: Persian, letters, Al, Ohio Supercomputer Center, Machine learning, O, S, C
Image copyright, Basil Masri Zada, Ohio University.
Sara Pirahmadian
Prompt: Future, carpet, Ohio Supercomputer Center, Al, Persian calligraphy, Abstract, Simple
Image copyright, Basil Masri Zada, Ohio University.
Nesa Rasouli
Prompt: Heat, Light, and Noise, what we saw, heard, or felt today as visual representation.
Image copyright, Basil Masri Zada, Ohio University.
Addie Smith
Prompt: computer as brain, computer parts forming a brain, computer brain inside a head, illustration, graphics card, wires, lights, copper wires, fiber optics, flashing lights, high quality
Image copyright, Basil Masri Zada, Ohio University.
Gregg Sullivan
Image copyright, Basil Masri Zada, Ohio University.
Jabin Tasmin
Prompt: a full-body, heavily damaged humanoid robot standing in a grassy meadow after a storm. its metal shell is dented, wires hanging loose from arms and torso, hydraulic lines leaking oil into the wet grass. missing plates reveal gears, pistons, and circuitry inside the chest and legs. sparks flicker from torn cables. wildflowers and tall weeds have begun to grow around its feet and through open panels. one optical sensor glows faintly while the other is dark. distant fog and rolling hills in background, soft natural daylight, realistic materials, detailed textures, 8k, cinematic composition, shallow depth of field, volumetric lighting, photorealistic, high dynamic range, concept-art style.
Negative prompt: cartoon, anime, humanoid face, glossy plastic, toy-like, text watermark, logo, unrealistic anatomy, low-res, oversaturated, deformed, stylized, fantasy armor.
Image copyright, Basil Masri Zada, Ohio University.
Jabin Tasmin
Prompt: a full-body, heavily damaged humanoid robot standing in a grassy meadow after a storm. its metal shell is dented, wires hanging loose from arms and torso, hydraulic lines leaking oil into the wet grass. missing plates reveal gears, pistons, and circuitry inside the chest and legs. sparks flicker from torn cables. wildflowers and tall weeds have begun to grow around its feet and through open panels. one optical sensor glows faintly while the other is dark. distant fog and rolling hills in background, soft natural daylight, realistic materials, detailed textures, 8k, cinematic composition, shallow depth of field, volumetric lighting, photorealistic, high dynamic range, concept-art style.
Negative prompt: cartoon, anime, humanoid face, glossy plastic, toy-like, text watermark, logo, unrealistic anatomy, low-res, oversaturated, deformed, stylized, fantasy armor.
Image copyright, Basil Masri Zada, Ohio University.
Jabin Tasmin
Prompt: a full-body, heavily damaged humanoid robot standing in a grassy meadow after a storm. its metal shell is dented, wires hanging loose from arms and torso, hydraulic lines leaking oil into the wet grass. missing plates reveal gears, pistons, and circuitry inside the chest and legs. sparks flicker from torn cables. wildflowers and tall weeds have begun to grow around its feet and through open panels. one optical sensor glows faintly while the other is dark. distant fog and rolling hills in background, soft natural daylight, realistic materials, detailed textures, 8k, cinematic composition, shallow depth of field, volumetric lighting, photorealistic, high dynamic range, concept-art style.
Negative prompt: cartoon, anime, humanoid face, glossy plastic, toy-like, text watermark, logo, unrealistic anatomy, low-res, oversaturated, deformed, stylized, fantasy armor.
Image copyright, Basil Masri Zada, Ohio University.
Jabin Tasmin
Prompt: a full-body, heavily damaged humanoid robot standing in a grassy meadow after a storm. its metal shell is dented, wires hanging loose from arms and torso, hydraulic lines leaking oil into the wet grass. missing plates reveal gears, pistons, and circuitry inside the chest and legs. sparks flicker from torn cables. wildflowers and tall weeds have begun to grow around its feet and through open panels. one optical sensor glows faintly while the other is dark. distant fog and rolling hills in background, soft natural daylight, realistic materials, detailed textures, 8k, cinematic composition, shallow depth of field, volumetric lighting, photorealistic, high dynamic range, concept-art style.
Negative prompt: cartoon, anime, humanoid face, glossy plastic, toy-like, text watermark, logo, unrealistic anatomy, low-res, oversaturated, deformed, stylized, fantasy armor.
Image copyright, Basil Masri Zada, Ohio University.
Jabin Tasmin
Prompt: a full-body, heavily damaged humanoid robot standing in a grassy meadow after a storm. its metal shell is dented, wires hanging loose from arms and torso, hydraulic lines leaking oil into the wet grass. missing plates reveal gears, pistons, and circuitry inside the chest and legs. sparks flicker from torn cables. wildflowers and tall weeds have begun to grow around its feet and through open panels. one optical sensor glows faintly while the other is dark. distant fog and rolling hills in background, soft natural daylight, realistic materials, detailed textures, 8k, cinematic composition, shallow depth of field, volumetric lighting, photorealistic, high dynamic range, concept-art style.
Negative prompt: cartoon, anime, humanoid face, glossy plastic, toy-like, text watermark, logo, unrealistic anatomy, low-res, oversaturated, deformed, stylized, fantasy armor.
Image copyright, Basil Masri Zada, Ohio University.
Jabin Tasmin
Prompt: a full-body, heavily damaged humanoid robot standing in a grassy meadow after a storm. its metal shell is dented, wires hanging loose from arms and torso, hydraulic lines leaking oil into the wet grass. missing plates reveal gears, pistons, and circuitry inside the chest and legs. sparks flicker from torn cables. wildflowers and tall weeds have begun to grow around its feet and through open panels. one optical sensor glows faintly while the other is dark. distant fog and rolling hills in background, soft natural daylight, realistic materials, detailed textures, 8k, cinematic composition, shallow depth of field, volumetric lighting, photorealistic, high dynamic range, concept-art style.
Negative prompt: cartoon, anime, humanoid face, glossy plastic, toy-like, text watermark, logo, unrealistic anatomy, low-res, oversaturated, deformed, stylized, fantasy armor.
Image copyright, Basil Masri Zada, Ohio University.
Elise Wrage
Prompt: (Background Image) abstract, aura, colorful, neon, computer, lifework, gradient, transparency, blurred; (Secondary Image) straight lines, code, numbers, surrealism, abstract, colorful
Negative prompt: (Secondary Image) humans, rounded lines, mandala, landscape
Image copyright, Basil Masri Zada, Ohio University.
Natalie Yan
Prompt: large starry figure sitting on top of a book looking into the galaxy, post-impressionism
Negative prompt: disfigurement Image copyright, Basil Masri Zada, Ohio University.
Written by Lexi Biasi
The Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC) addresses the rising computational demands of academic and industrial research communities by providing a robust shared infrastructure and proven expertise in advanced modeling, simulation and analysis. OSC empowers scientists with the services essential to making extraordinary discoveries and innovations, partners with businesses and industry to leverage computational science as a competitive force in the global knowledge economy and leads efforts to equip the workforce with the key technology skills required for 21st century jobs.
