Passing along…may be of interest.
--
Melody Clark
Communications Specialist
Technology & Social Change (TASCHA)
melclark@uw.edu | 206.303.7910
Twitter: @taschagroup | @melodyrclark
From: dub-bounces@dub.washington.edu [mailto:dub-bounces@dub.washington.edu]
On Behalf Of HCDE News
Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2015 11:28 AM
To: hcde-community@uw.edu; dub@dub.washington.edu
Subject: [dub] HCDE Invited Lecture: David Mellis - "Democratizing Electronics: Accessibility and Meaning in Technological Making"
Please join the department of Human Centered Design & Engineering next Tuesday, February 24, for a special guest lecture.
Democratizing Electronics:
Accessibility and Meaning in Technological Making
David Mellis, MIT Media Lab
Tuesday, February 24
9:30 - 10:30 a.m.
Sieg Hall, Room 233
My
work seeks to democratize electronics making. I develop tools, examples, and contexts that help designers, artists, students, hobbyists, and others prototype, design, and fabricate interactive artifacts. That involves not only making technology accessible
to new audiences but making it relevant and meaningful for those audiences. In this talk, I share lessons from my work on electronics prototyping platforms; on supporting the use of electronics in design, craft, and art; and on do-it-yourself electronic devices.
Based on my experience as the lead software developer for the Arduino electronics prototyping platform, I discuss approaches to supporting the design and prototyping of interactive objects and their behaviors. Drawing on my time
teaching physical computing in design and art contexts, I discuss strategies for translating electronics and embedded computation into natural materials for creative practice.
My research at the MIT Media Lab investigates the application of an open-source approach to the making of electronic products. I discuss the opportunities and constraints I've encountered in redesigning devices (like radios and cellphones)
for personal production using digital fabrication. I share strategies for engaging others in making electronic devices for use in their daily lives.
Finally, I discuss future research opportunities, including both potential new platforms for the making of interactive artifacts and means of engaging new audiences in these activities.
Bio:
David A. Mellis is a PhD student at the MIT Media Lab, in Prof. Mitchel Resnick's Lifelong Kindergarten group. David completed his master's degree at the
Media Lab in Prof. Leah Buechley's High-Low Tech group. Prior to the Media Lab, David was a member of the faculty for the pilot year at the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design, an international master's program. David has a master's degree from the
Interaction Design Institute Ivrea (Italy) and is a co-founder of the Arduino electronics prototyping platform.
Human Centered Design & Engineering
