---
title: "STEAM project on CARC lights up the night on Route 66"
description: "The iconic Route 66, also known locally as Central Avenue, is famous for the neon lights that have been luring tourists and locals alike to diners, motels, and shops along the Mother Road for more than 50 years."
type: News
tags:
  - News
date: "2016"
generated:
  by: "process:scripts/port_legacy_pages.py"
  at: "2026-09-10T00:00:00Z"
sources:
  - id: carc-web
    resource: "https://carc.unm.edu/news--events/News/CARC lights.html"
    title: "STEAM project on CARC lights up the night on Route 66 (carc.unm.edu)"
    author: "team:unm-carc"
---

# STEAM project on CARC lights up the night on Route 66

<p class="carc-byline">2016</p>

![](/assets/carc-lights.jpg)

The iconic Route 66, also known locally as Central Avenue, is famous for the
neon lights that have been luring tourists and locals alike to diners, motels,
and shops along the Mother Road for more than 50 years. The University of New
Mexico [Social Media Workgroup](http://socialmedia.unm.edu/){target=_blank}
and the UNM [Center for Advanced Research Computing](/) are keeping the
history of eye-catching light displays on the historic strip alive with a
contemporary, more sustainable twist.

Pass by the Center just west of the corner of University and Central any
evening and you’ll see a series of lights changing color and zigzagging
through the windows on the south and east side of the building. The lights are
LEDs, not neon. And they’re not just pretty colors. The project is called
*[Data Central: A Public LED Platform for Near Real-time Driven
Animation](https://vimeo.com/185135370){target=_blank}*, led by Professor
Andrea Polli, Ph.D., UNM professor of Art and Ecology. Bringing together a
team with diverse skill sets, including undergraduate student researchers in
engineering Brandon Wade and David DiDonato, and STEAM New Mexico AmeriCorps
VISTA specialist Madeline Bolding, Ph.D., the SMW developed an
attention-grabbing work of technology and public art.

Bolding explained how data gathered from donated brain regions is expressed in
Data Central through colored lights. Currently the movement and colors are
tied to data coming from the study of genetic material by [BrainSpan
consortium](http://www.brainspan.org/){target=_blank} from people who donated
their brains after death for scientific research, she said.

Every cell in the body contains the same genetic material. But while every
cell contains the same genes, not all genes are “turned on” or “expressed” all
the time or at the same rate, Bolding explained. The genes are “expressed” in
different combinations and at different times, making the difference between,
say, a kidney and skin cells.

The LEDs in CARC’s windows reflect those various expressions of genes in parts
of the brain. Different colors show the level of expression in units called
Reads Per Kilobase Million or RPKM. Colors range from white at 300-500 RPKMs
to red at 901-1,400 RPKMs.

A few of the genes chosen to be represented for the display are:

ESPN – This gene helps to transform a mechanical signal into one the brain can
understand. Mutations can cause deafness.

DEAF1 – This gene is important in embryonic development and mutations can
result in mental retardation.

CASP9 – Caspases are the Grim Reapers of the cell world. These genes tell a
gene when its job is done or something is wrong and it should kill itself.
CASP9 triggers if a cell experiences DNA damage from sources like UV light or
radiation. Since DNA damage can lead to cells dividing too quickly, CASP9
helps kill the cell before it becomes cancerous.

BRAT1 – This gene is associated with suppressing breast cancer.

The genetic data is not the first to be channeled through the display. In the
past, weather and traffic data were also echoed in the streams of lights.

While LEDs resemble Route 66’s famous neon displays, the LEDs are more energy
efficient, requiring only a fraction of the electricity required to power
neon. Also, the LEDs outperform the neon, with computer controlled patterns,
brightness, speed, and colors.

When passersby see colored lights snaking across the CARC façade, they are
also seeing a representation of the innermost workings of the brain on a
genetic level.

The Data Central team, led by Polli, has also included Jazmyn Crosby, Frank
Feng, Gabrielle Herbosa, Trent Small, Isaiah Smith, Jared Rendon-Trompak,
Matthew Barbato, Britney King, and Eric Geusz.

[Polli](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Polli){target=_blank} has
directed other light and data projects, including the
*[Skylight](http://socialmedia.unm.edu/?p=2482){target=_blank}* project at the
Albuquerque Balloon Park, and the *[Energy
Flow](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a558d_efhk8){target=_blank}* project on
the Rachel Carson Bridge in Pittsburgh, PA.

See more about the Data Central project and others on the [SMW
website](http://socialmedia.unm.edu/){target=_blank}.