During 2006 Wolgang Belracchi sold a Campendonk forgery for 2.88 million euros. During his trial 4 years later he was dubbed “greatest art forger of our time”. After 4 more years researchers designed neural network that, after less than 4 hours of training, creates forgeries that can fool experts half of the time. This algorithm, in my opinion, remains one of the most revolutionary pieces of technology of the early 2000s.
My name is Sari Saba Sadiya, I earned a dual bachelor in Mathematics and Computer Engineering back in a Palestinian and later worked for Apple for a number of years before realizing my passion does not lie in industry. I was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to do graduate work in MSU where I am currently completing a dual PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience and Computer Science. Despite my quantitative training I continue to suffer from a humanist disposition. And my current plan is to use the dual degree as a jumping board to a career in cognitive psychology.
Outside of the academy I have co-founded “Almahata – Palestinian Youth Cooperative” (2012-2017) which functioned as a non-profit cooperative aiming to provide an open space for cultural activities in Haifa and hosted over 300 lectures, workshops, book launches and film screenings. Today I am a community partnership coordinator at the “Refugee Outreach Collective“, a nonprofit that amplifies the diverse narratives of migrant and displaced communities through alliance and relationship building.
Despite very little artistic talent I persevere as a cellist working in the margins of the musical community. I have played in several orchestras and ensembles that focused on traditional arabic and Palestinian music. I was part of multiple noise collaborative, and since coming to MSU have been a member of an Arabic funk fusion band named “Beirut 66”.
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