I spoke to Tim Constandinou about the Bionic Sensor he helped develop with a group of bionics researchers at the IBE. The chip is being used to test a range of technologies which might develop into different applications, including an artificial eye and pancreas.
See a full write up of this process here.
above: Tim demonstrating Cadence - an application that allows chips to be designed and tested, before being manufactured
Following on the Material Beliefs presentation hosted at Cafe Scientifique in Newcastle - I would like to let you know that I have joined PEALS as a visiting researcher for an Arts Council “Interact” placement from 17th September till January 2008.  The aim of my placement is to engage with PEALS research activities and to “Interact†with researchers to identify and explore shared areas of interest. With this in mind, I am also hoping to spend some time at the Institute of Human Genetics to learn more about the work carried in their labs and visit some of the research facilities, such as Functional Genetics, Human Development Biology Resource and Zebrafish Facility.
I would like to use my time at PEALS to engage with new research areas and develop new ideas for future collaborative work intended to stimulate the public to develop an understanding that enables them to deal not only with applications of life sciences, but with the social development of scientific knowledge.During my time at PEALS I will organize a series of seminars and workshops.
The first event is at the Culture Lab on Design and Bioethics and it explores how designers might participate in scientific debate and the ways in which science and design overlap. It tries to map out a new territory, offering an alternative vision of design practice that is concerned with the ethical consequences of emerging biotechnologies. The seminar considers how separate disciplines investigate the hybrid grounds where areas of expertise overlap and it is also hoped that it can serve as a platform for opening up interdisciplinary research futures.
Wednesday 5th December 2007, 1.00-2.00pm
Culture Lab – Newcastle University
Culture Lab is a research infrastructure providing an environment for academics and practitioners working beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries. It promotes socially and economically valuable synergies with artists, creative industries, and cultural and scientific institutions, and the development of innovative research with digital tools.
There are still some outposts of industry amongst the bars and retaurants on the gentrifying streets of east london. This building is on Orsman Road near regents canal in Shoreditch. It’s now used as artists studios but as I passed I had a vision of engineers engaged in research, sat in workshops with calibrated tools. This was a vingette of engineering from the 50’s and 60’s, and likely straight from NASA’s beautiful image archives.
Ah how times have changed. Buildings change, our attitudes about what engineering is have perhaps changed, and through this project we hope to give an idea of how research is changing. More ambitiously, the project asks - how should we describe the relationship between the outcomes of research and our experiences of change? With this in mind we’re been busy visiting engineering departments to interview researchers about what they do and why they do it. I’ll shortly add videos and other documentation to this site, so stay tuned. There are some initial details on this page, get in touch if you want to open your doors and talk about your own work.
MADE is a network of professional bodies and research centres, aiming to build bridges between design and material engineering. Here’s how the MADE website describes itself:
The Materials and Design Exchange - MADE - brings together the communities of design and materials technology in order to stimulate innovation, promote the transfer of materials knowledge and improve the competitiveness of UK business.
MADE also publishes a newsletter, the lateset version is available here as a pdf.
To provide some context, MADE is part of a Knowledge Transfer Network. KTNs are supported by the Department for Trade and Industry to encourage knowledge sharing between research and industry, to bring about innovation and general goodness.
Material Beliefs is a two year project which encourages partnerships between engineers and designers. It is based in the Department of Design at Goldsmiths, University of London, and over the next two years will develop links with engineering departments in universities across the UK.
Funding for the project has been provided by the EPSRC, and the proposal was originally developed during an Ideas Factory held in March 2006.
The objective of the project is to let engineers and designers think and work together, and talk to a broad audience about the role and implications of engineering upon our society.
This blog will provide a record of the project as it develops, and highlight other relevent news and resources.
