Doctoral Program

Event | Doctoral Program MidJourney is a so-called ›Image generating‹ AI software that, through descriptive texts called prompts is able to generate images (few samples in the attached image). This tool is very powerful and has incredible potential to deliver creative outputs aiding designers in developing concepts, products, and scenarios ranging from feasible to speculative (more information in the attached Word document). The workshop trainer Nicholas Rapagnani @s.nich.ers, a designer focusing on footwear, biomaterials (mycelium), and AI currently a research fellow at the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano. more

Event | Weaving | Filtering | Cutting | Material Form Function | Object Space Agency | Symbolic Material | Doctoral Program Under the title »matterscapes« the 2nd cohort of the MoA doctoral program gave insights into their dissertation projects.  By researching modes of activating and passivating matter in named contexts, this year’s progress presentation demonstrated and discussed the current research progress in one of the cohort’s ›natural habitats‹ — the studio on the 4th floor. All Cluster Members were invited to listen, share ideas, identify common grounds, offer suggestions, and exchange with one another. more

Event | Filtering | Material Form Function | Robotics | Doctoral Program | Ocean | More-Than-Human On May 17th and 18th Cluster Members Anna Schaeffner and Rasa Weber Presented at a major event on the global electronic art scene, that aims to strengthen the dialog between artists, researchers, engineers, designers and entrepreneurs from the cultural and creative industries who participate in the advances of research and creation. Anna Schaffner gave an artist talk »For a Design of Deformation« and Rasa Weber presented her paper »A Sympoietic Ocean. Design Research with/in the Marine Holobiont«. more

Event | Science Communication | Doctoral Program | Collactive Materials As science communication becomes an increasingly important part of any researcher’s life, it is essential - especially for PhDs and Postdocs - to find a science communication style that engages their audience(s) in a meaningful way while also providing enjoyment and mental energy for their own research. In this workshop series, we provide you with the basic knowledge and confidence to craft a science communication style that suits your research topic(s) and individual preferences. In the first workshop, we will take a look at different science communication models, while the second workshop aims to help you choose your preferred individual communication style. Additionally, a media presence training will be offered on June 20th. more

News | Filtering | Robotics | Doctoral Program We congratulate Pre-Doctoral Candidate Anna Schäffner on her successful application to one of the three VOJEXT S+T+ARTS residencies. The selected artists were announced during the S+T+ARTS presentations at European Robotic Forum 2023 in Odense (Denmark). Each artist will receive 30.000 Euros of funding, mentoring and access to robotics labs from March until December 2023. The goals of the VOJEXT S+T+ARTS residencies are twofold: to push for art-driven innovation and societal understanding of human-robot interactions, and to integrate them in industrial manufacturing robotics that work on construction, arts and crafts. Anna Schäffner is taking part in the Social Robots residency, supported by industrial partner and tech-provider  IIT (Fondazion Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia). Her project »Soft Collision« focuses on the design of a new robotic membrane that will demonstrate a form of interaction between human and robot through body language. more

Event | Weaving | Filtering | Cutting | Material Form Function | Object Space Agency | Teaching | Doctoral Program For the Cluster's newly formed doctoral cohort the year started with an intensive workshop on interdisciplinary collaboration hosted by »Matter of Activity« under the supervision of Karola Dierichs and Franziska Wegener. The workshop »MATTER. Research Modules for the Creation, Cognition and Perception of Matter through Design, Materials Science and Cultural Science« that was held February, 5th–10th, 2023, invited Pre-Doctoral Candidates to engage in an interdisciplinary discourse and practice diving deeply into the challenge of how to learn and appropriate each other’s scientific language for more productive research collaborations. more

Event | Weaving | Filtering | Cutting | Material Form Function | Object Space Agency | Doctoral Program | Climate | Haptics | More-Than-Human | Ocean | Robotics | Textiles | Tree Bark | Wild Silk | XR | Water | Science Communication The 2022 presentation of the Doctoral Program »Matters of Activity« at the MoA Retreat in September at Landgut Stober was both a review and an outlook of the doctoral research conducted at the Cluster between 2020 and 2022. Under the title »Scaling Matters: From the Lab to the Field, «Pre-Doctoral Researchers at varying stages of their research — from the very beginning to the final phase of their theses — presented their heterogeneous work whilst continuing to negotiate common themes, methods, questions and tools. The format combined talks and an exhibition and invited MoA Members to engage individually with the presentation and a selection of their research objects. Thanks to everyone involved for making possible this all-around successful event. Enjoy some visual impressions of the exhibition, as well as the talks and have a look at the booklet. more