University of Akron, Department of Biology

Dr. Petra Gruber, Associate Professor at the University of Akron is an expert in the field of biomimetics in architecture. The Biomimicry Research and Innovation Center BRIC based at UAkron consists of more than 30 faculty members active in inter-and transdisciplinary research in the fields of biology, engineering, polymer science, art etc. The PhD program in Integrated Biosciences includes currently 17 graduate students, with architecture being a new field of exploration. Dr. Gruber will link her research interest on criteria of life in architectural design, with BRIC and LAS to pursue projects and collaborations in this field.

Central Saint Martins UAL, Design & Living Systems Lab

The Design and Living Systems Lab is a pioneering research laboratory that explores the interface of biological sciences and design to challenge established paradigms and envision new sustainable materials and forms of production for the future. The Lab has grown out of 8 years of Prof. Carole Collet‘s research activities at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts. The D&LS Lab explores a new hierarchy of relationships with the ‘living’ where designers operate within a sliding scale of a ‘natural nature’ and a new ‘programmable nature’ in the quest for innovative ecological design and fabrication models. The main objective is to explore biological sciences through design to grow new design propositions that could facilitate the transition to the ‘one planet living’ horizon 2050.

University of Surrey, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Dr. Simon Park is a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Surrey and teaches Bacteriology and Molecular Biology. His activities, and practice beyond scientific research, are driven by the misconception that microbiological life is primitive and always detrimental and his conviction is that collaborations with artists can lead to powerful concepts through which the true and sublime nature of the microbial world can be communicated in ways that transcends the usual forums offered by newspaper headlines and popular science magazines. In this context, he has been widely involved in many collaborative projects with artists. Collaborations funded by the Wellcome Trust include “Six Days of Goodbye Poems of Ophelia” with artist JoWOnder and “Exploring the Invisible” with artist Anne Brodie.

University of Genoa, Department of Engineering

Established in May 2012, DIBRIS is an university structure where research and education are based on the areas of Computer Science and Technology, Bioengineering, Robotics and Systems Engineering. The mission of DIBRIS is to promote and facilitate the creation (research), transmission (education), and technology transfer of the knowledge in these areas at the national and international levels.

DIBRIS combines scientific and technological expertises, operating as an inter-school department within the Polytechnic School and the School of Science. Its faculty members work in the fields of Computer Science, Bioengineering, Operation Research, and Robotics. Thus, DIBRIS acts as a reference point for research, education, and technology transfer in these domains.

University of North Florida, Department of Foundations and Secondary Education

The mission of the Department of Foundations and Secondary Education is to: 1) create in students a deep understanding of foundational disciplines, general pedagogy, and discipline specific pedagogy; 2) provide guidance to pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, and school leaders in the application of educational research; 3) ensure that schools – ranging from urban to suburban to rural – provide the best possible education for all students; and 4) create original scholarship and advance the body of knowledge.

University of Waterloo

In the heart of Waterloo Region, at the forefront of innovation, the University of Waterloo is home to world-changing research and inspired teaching. At the hub of a growing network of global partnerships, Waterloo is shaping the future by building bridges with industry and between disciplines, institutions and communities. The Living Architecture Systems Group is based in the University of Waterloo and benefits from strong institutional support, advanced fabrication and research facilities, and leading researchers.

University of the West of England, Unconventional Computing Centre

We employ complex dynamics in physical, chemical and biological media to design novel computational techniques, architectures and working prototypes of non-linear media based computers.

The research is based on an interdisciplinary cooperation in modeling and experimental verification of novel principles of information processing and analysis in uniform distributed large-scale chemical and physical systems. We also apply these novel principles to the design of working prototypes of massively parallel computing devices with intrinsic functions that exploit the complex dynamics of non-linear systems.

Concordia University, Topological Media Lab

The Topological Media Lab approaches media arts and technologies research as a creative endeavour that cuts across disciplines and fields of experience. The TML describes its atelier research as studying processes of “subjectivation, agency and materiality from phenomenological, social and computational perspectives.” It approaches this by suspending assumptions about what we think are ego’s, humans, machines, objects, and subjects, and think instead of transformations on things, and see how they emerge in play and process. This is informed by a continuous, rather than tokenized object or grammar-based, approach to material change, hence the “topological” aspect. Topology is a field of mathematics concerned with the non-metric (non-numerical) properties of space and the continuous, dynamic relationships through which space is constituted.

TML researchers investigate how people build, inhabit and use sensate or active matter. Philosophically, TML research draws inspiration from the phenomenology of the Merleau Ponty’s later writings, the questioning of representation and meaning by Wittgenstein, the philosophy of technology of Simondon, and ethico-aesthetic sensibilities of Guattari amongst other sources. The TML is both an atelier and a research laboratory for research in improvisatory gesture and movement from humane but also non-anthropocentric perspectives. Projects conducted in the atelier draw on and inform research in the areas of performance, music, media arts and embodiment theory. The topological experiments also contribute to ongoing research in the computational and natural sciences, seeking to understand the dynamic interplays of social, psychical and material space.

Sheridan College, Screen Industries Research and Training Centre

SIRT is located in the heart of Toronto’s film and television studio district at Pinewood Toronto Studios, Canada’s largest complex of soundstages. SIRT’s production studio and lab facility is an industry and academic “technology clubhouse” dedicated to exploring digital image capture and creation processes for film, television, gaming and other screen-based industries.
Using state of the art digital cinema cameras, stereoscopic camera rigs and post-production processes, as well as motion capture technologies, Centre researchers and staff work together with industry partners in a range of technology areas. Tapeless workflow, the art and practice of stereoscopic production, and previsualization/virtual moviemaking are some of the current topics.

SIRT was initiated by Sheridan Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning and works extensively with student and faculty/staff researchers from Sheridan, as well as partners from a variety of other academic institutions. The Centre has been made possible by government funding from provincial and federal government levels.