Date & Time:
April 2, 2026 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Location:
Crerar 390, 5730 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, IL,
04/02/2026 04:00 PM 04/02/2026 05:00 PM America/Chicago Eric Paulos (UC Berkeley)- Plastic Dynamism: Encountering and Designing with Emerging Technologies Crerar 390, 5730 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, IL,

Abstract: This talk will present and critique a new body of evolving collaborative work at the intersection of computer science, material science, and design research. I will present an argument for hybrid materials, methods, and artifacts as strategic tools for insight and innovation within computing culture. The narrative will interrogate a series of research moving across three primary themes – New Making Renaissance, Expressive Wearables, and Decomposable Interactive Electronics. I will detail thoughtful opportunities where art, AI, and technology intersect throughout this emerging landscape.

Speakers

Eric Paulos

Professor, UC Berkeley

Eric Paulos is the founder and director of the Hybrid Ecologies Lab, a Professor in Electrical Engineering Computer Science Department at UC Berkeley, Director of the Jacobs Institute for Design Innovation, Director of the CITRIS Invention Lab, and faculty within the Berkeley Center for New Media (BCNM). Eric developed some of the first internet telepresence robots in the early 1990s, one of the first smartwatch haptic messaging devices in 2002, coined the term “Urban Computing” in 2004, created the first citizen science air quality sensors integrated into mobile phones in 2007, and initiated “counterfuntional design” and “unmaking” as major research themes within HCI and Design. Previously, Eric held the Cooper-Siegel Associate Professor Chair in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University where he was faculty within the Human-Computer Interaction Institute with courtesy faculty appointment in the Robotics Institute. Prior to CMU, Eric was a Senior Research Scientist at Intel Research. Eric received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from UC Berkeley. Eric is also the founder and director of the Experimental Interaction Unit and a frequent collaborator with Mark Pauline of Survival Research Laboratories.

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