Materials Innovation Hub: Connecting Materials Culture to Materials Science

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The development of the silicon chip fifty years ago was the materials science innovation that sparked the information technology revolution. Such new materials do more than transform technology, they change behaviour and shape the urban landscape, from our cities, to our hospitals, to our homes, to our art. Thus, materials are a defining characteristic of society: its history, culture and economic welfare. As a result materiality is one of the central themes of study in every university. However in contemporary universities the scientists involved in making new materials (physicists, chemists, materials scientists) very rarely get involved with those who study the cultural significance and impact of materials (humanities and social scientists), and are often further distanced from those who make things with materials (medics, engineers, architects, designers, artists). This has a serious detrimental effect on the research and teaching culture of universities, and their capacity to engage with the wider world, since many of the important issues of contemporary society, such as health, security, climate change and economic sustainability, require a multi-disciplinary approach. The aim of this research project is to build the Materials Innovation Hub within King's College London whose guiding principle will be that all materials innovation benefits from a system-wide multidisciplinary approach involving the arts, humanities, social sciences, physical sciences and health sciences. The Hub will be a focal point for developing our understanding of how materials, materiality and material culture affect the human realm, be it in the form of a new type of artificial limb, or a new form of human expression. It will be a place of wonder, play and ambitious ideas - a place to initiate innovation and culture change within the university and the UK.