Can bacteria spin a yarn?
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| Admission: Free online event |
| Planning: c. 90 min |
| Which languages: German, German Sign Language |
| Venue: Online event |
| Part of: WeSearch |
The notion that the things around us are passive is a grave error: substances conceal inner powers and can interact – with each other and with the environment.
In our exploitation of them, however, this potential for interaction has so far been ignored or forcibly suppressed. This is one of the fundamental causes of our current ecological crisis, calling for a complete revolution in the way we think about the relationship between technology and nature.
To this end, the Matters of Activity cluster of excellence is using a holistic approach to pursue a new materials culture. Based on the collaboration of all the disciplines, the goal is no longer finding partial solutions, but rather exploring the question: Do we humans still have a future?
Moderation
Volker Wieprecht
Contributors
is an architect and has been Professor of Materials and Design at the weissensee kunsthochschule berlin since 2013. Her focus is on the development of architectural materials based on textile structures, active materials and functional surfaces.
is a physicist and is Director of the Department of Biomaterials at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam, where he researches the structure and behaviour of biological materials and develops their applications in materials science and medicine.
is a Professor of Design and the History of Knowledge at the Institute for Cultural Studies at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. After initial training in graphic design, she then continued with aesthetics and design studies along with cultural studies. She now researches, among other things, the history, theory and methodology of design in the 20th century and the cultural history of creativity.
is professor of History of Knowledge and Culture at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. His research focuses primarily on the history and theory of the material nature of knowledge in the form of codes, structures, and knowledge architectures.
Together with Peter Fratzl, Claudia Mareis and Horst Bredekamp, he directs the Matters of Activity cluster of excellence.
is a science and technology historian. His research within the Filtering cluster project focusses on socio-technological systems and physical techniques which predetermine or filter our behaviour.
is a micro- and molecular biologist. She is professor of microbiology at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and her work within the cluster of excellence includes investigating bacterial biofilms as an example of active matter, with a focus on the nano/micro-architecture and morphogenesis of biofilms.
studied architecture in Munich and Berlin. His research within the Weaving cluster project focusses on the properties of biofilms on fibre-based substrates. He also investigates different manufacturing methods for composite materials, and their integration into the design process.
is a media theorist and post-doctoral research associate in the Material Form Function cluster project. Her research interests include contemporary technological and ecological transformation processes, experimental cultures in media, art and design, and the theory and aesthetics of the Anthropocene.
is full of questions and will be the moderator of the series WeSearch. Along with Robert Skuppin, Wieprecht moderated Die schöne Sendung and Der schöne Morgen, among others, on Radio 1 from 1997 to 2011 and since 2019, he can be seen on the RBB Abendschau.
