Materialising the Future: A Learning Path to Understand, Develop and Apply Emerging Materials and Technologies (Research for Development)

This open access book offers a host of theoretical knowledge at the basis of new EM&Ts (namely, Interactive Connected Smart Materials, Wearables (ICS), Nanomaterials, Advanced Growing Materials, and Experimental Wood-Based Materials), as communicated through the unique design teaching method developed within the context of the European Project DATEMATS, a result of the creative workshops held by the four higher education institutions that were partners in the project, stressing the pros and cons of the method and offering ideas for further development and improvement. The modern age requires its own innovations in regards to both social and industrial progress, innovations made possible by Emerging Materials and Technologies (EM&Ts). Frameworks for designing both with and for the new materials are presented, educating designers about the opportunities offered by EM&Ts and how to take advantage of them. At the same time, the book explains how the method developed through the knowledge generated at research centers and universities can be communicated to companies across various industries that stand to gain from it, linking the assorted stakeholders, and includes a final chapter based on feedback from both students and business professionals as to the benefits of academic/industrial cooperation. 

This is an open access book.

Pirjo Kääriäinen is Associate Professor of Design and Materialities at Aalto University's School of Arts, Design, and Architecture. Her background is in textile design and manufacturing. Together with Professor Tapani Vuorinen, she has facilitated the interdisciplinary CHEMARTS collaboration between the School of Arts, Design, and Architecture (ARTS) and the School of Chemical Engineering (CHEM) since 2011. CHEMARTS aims to inspire students and researchers to explore design-driven approaches in materials research and to create future-oriented concepts, applications, and business seeds for a more sustainable world of materials.

Anke Pasold is an Associate professor at the Material Design Lab at the Copenhagen School of Design and Technology, where she is developing the methodological and technological side of the lab and structuring new material-educational programmes. Her research focus is on material practice, in particular, on advanced design methodologies, material formation and fabrication processes, which she explores by means of experimental prototypes - making things tangible between the digital and the physical towards integrated, applied solutions.

Dra. Paz Morer-Camo is Professor at the University of Navarra – Tecnun (Spain). She holds a Ph.D. (1991) in Architecture from the University of Navarra. Specializing in Computer Design, her doctoral thesis focused on realistic representations of 3D models and simulation of virtual environments using computational techniques. She is currently the coordinator of the Industrial Design Engineering degree and is responsible for the Industrial Design area. Currently, she lectures on ‘Artistic Drawing’, ‘Technical Drawing’, ‘Sustainable Engineering’ and ‘Design Methodology’ to Bachelor students and is coordinator of the subject ‘Ethical challenges in Artificial Intelligence’ for Master students. She has participated in more than 25 research projects subsidized by different government entities. She has participated in more than 35 international conferences, and she has served as chairman for five international conferences. She has been the editor of three books. She spent three months as a researcher at MIT (Cambridge-USA) in 2007 and a second one-month stay at CalPoly (California) in 2019. She has obtained three six-year research grants from the national committee for the assessment of research action. She has supervised six PhD Theses and more than 100 bachelor thesis projects. She has belonged to the Board of the Ingegraf Association since 2013, serving as its President for four years. She is reviewer of several scientific journals: Sensors, DYNA, and Applied Sciences, among others.