#materials research

Flexible electronics.                                                                             InnovateUK

Ben Walsh, Innovation Lead – Advanced Materials, Innovate UK, talks about why the UK Government body doesn’t just give out money but how instead materials scientists will be able to make connections at the Materials Research Exchange in March:

Innovate UK is the UK’s Innovation agency. We’re part of the government’s support structure to encourage the development of new technologies to help British companies succeed in the global marketplace.’ We use two approaches to encourage innovation, we provide funding to companies so that they can undertake cutting edge, risky projects that could lead to a jump in technology development; and we help connect these companies and the supply chain to drive their products into the marketplace. 

Sometimes people ask ‘Why don’t you just give us the money?’ Good question. We passionately believe that developing connections and networks between innovative companies produce outputs greater than the sum of their parts. Our structure is organised so that we encourage, cajole and force collaboration at all points. Most of the funding we offer comes with a caveat that the innovation projects must be collaborative. Most companies find this initially difficult and alien – sharing resources and working to a common goal is difficult, requiring an entirely different skill set than they are used to. But by the end of the process, virtually all those involved in our funding say that the requirement for collaboration is excellent. 

I believe that communication is the most powerful tool available to innovators. The advanced materials team at innovate recognise that and so with our partner organisations, the Knowledge Transfer Network, EPSRC and DSTL, we are organising the UK’s largest Advanced Materials Innovation Showcase: The Materials Research Exchange. This is a combined exhibition and conference with over 1,200 delegates and 100 exhibition stands over the two day event, at the Business Design Centre in Islington on the 12th and 13th of March, 2018. 

The event is ambitious in scope, but we also recognise the size of the opportunity – advanced materials are the foundation from which all our high value manufacturing sectors are built. Without a strong, vibrant and connected advanced materials supply chain in the UK, our ability to compete globally will be at risk. This showcase event is focused bringing together the best in UK advanced materials innovation from industry and our world-class universities. 

It is unusual in that the event is not about trying to sell products. Other events do this. It is about developing those vital connections to bring new materials and products to market. We have a varied agenda that will look to showcase the best advanced materials innovations from both businesses and world-class academic groups. There will be dedicated seminars on automotive, aerospace and defence materials and an investor event to link materials companies with the City. We will also feature world class talks spearheaded by the Royce Institute (£250m investment in advance materials research). All this is under one roof. The event is also an opportunity to show how with the formation of UK Research and Innovation (an amalgamation of the Research Councils and Innovate UK) will lead to closer working across our organisations. This is to ensure that more research developed through our universities being exploited in the UK. 

Resineros is a research project aimed to develop of prospects that pine resin can offer as a raw material in combination with other materials such as cement, coal, sawdust, pigments, etc. The search for new textures is the guiding force in this project whose main objective is the recovery of large fields of pine forests to be used as a source for sustainable resources.

Various by products such as dyes, emulsifiers, paint removal products, etc., are extracted from pine resin which are then used in many industries as diverse as paper, chewing gum, ink for printers and even medical tools.

The way to collect pine resin, much like collecting cork, is completely artisanal and has traditionaly been a source of income for local dwellers. The resin is harvested with a specific technique that allows the tree to remain productive for up to 100 years.

The results of this research project are presented by way of a multisensory installation in which the user is invited to interact with the various samples. All of the samples provide the exact composition.

The main idea is to stimulate the interest of consumers and professionals to utilize this raw material of natural origin, found in abundance and which is underutilized. By arranging the results in an open source format, my goal is to promote the replication, improvement and implementation of others.

by Cristian Montesinos.

Utoplast is a research project with an unmistakable conceptual value. The possibility of recycling plastic within my own means is more than questionable, although the results raise a series of interesting questions about the interrelation between resources, consumption and consumer.

These landscapes have been configured from a material made especifically composed entirely of wood waste and pigments of biological origin. In the four dioramas, volumes and surfaces have been created with the intention of defining a characteristic language, in which the strange and the familiar are part of the same idea.

proyecto desarrollado Proyecto Algo gracias a la beca Utopia126 con la colaboración de Manuel Riesgo.

Exoplanets is a speculative project that departs from the idea of forming a collective imaginary model fueled by popular culture of the twentieth century, its space and the promise of new territories to conquer. It consists of 4 scenarios or planets, the Red Planet, Black, Blue and Green.

These landscapes have been configured from a material made especifically composed entirely of wood waste and pigments of biological origin. In the four dioramas, volumes and surfaces have been created with the intention of defining a characteristic language, in which the strange and the familiar are part of the same idea.

Ree Morton - oil on wood and wire and enamel on celastic

https://www.alexanderandbonin.com/exhibition/172/exhibition_works/925

Celastic (generic name) is a plastic impregnated fabric which becomes moldable and adhesive when activated by immersion in solvent or with heat. When dry or cool, it is transformed into a light-weight, high impact, weatherproof "shell", having excellent shape memory and bonding power. Celastic can be drilled and sanded and will accept many finishing techniques.

https://www.schenz.com/fm_celastic.html

Ree Morton - acrylic and felt tip on nylon

Something in the Wind is comprised of hand-sewn and painted flags, each of which names a close friend, family member, or fellow artist.

https://www.alexanderandbonin.com/exhibition/172/press_release/

https://www.theicala.org/en/exhibitions/69-ree-morton-br-the-plant-that-heals-may-also-poison

Throughout her career, Morton produced a philosophically complex body of work rich in emotion. Though celebrated by peers and younger artists, Morton’s influence on contemporary art remains considerable yet muted, her legacy widely underrecognized. The eclectic arc of Morton’s practice was rooted in Postminimalism, the inclusion of personal narrative—through literary, theoretical, and autobiographical references—and use of bold color and theatrical imagery infused her objects with sly humor and a concern with the decorative, generating a feminist legacy increasingly appreciated in retrospect. Reimagining tropes of love, friendship, and motherhood, while radically asserting sentiment as a legitimate subject of artmaking, Morton’s conceptually rigorous work demonstrates generosity towards the viewer, its spirit of playfulness and joy inflecting all aspects of the exhibition.