Wilkes, SE;
Miodownik, MA;
(2018)
Materials library collections as tools for interdisciplinary research.
Interdisciplinary Science Reviews
, 43
(1)
pp. 3-23.
10.1080/03080188.2018.1435450.
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Abstract
This paper examines how materials libraries are used as tools for interdisciplinary collaboration in 3 research projects that inhabit a disciplinary triangle between materials research, design and user needs: PhysFeel, which explores how materials collections can be used in psychological therapies; Light.Touch.Matters, a design-led project to develop new smart materials; and Hands of X, which uses materials collections to develop a bespoke prosthetics service. The paper analyses and contrasts these case studies to better understand the affordances and limitations of materials collections when used as research, translational and design tools. We conclude that in collaborations between materials researchers, designers and end users, tensions arise as a result of the primacy that each partner gives to creativity, the development of new knowledge and to solving societal problems. The use of a materials library addresses many of these issues but is not a panacea for all the problems associated with interdisciplinary working.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Materials library collections as tools for interdisciplinary research |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1080/03080188.2018.1435450 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1080/03080188.2018.1435450 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Keywords: | Materials libraries, interdisciplinarity, materials research, social science, design research |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Mechanical Engineering UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Engineering Science Faculty Office |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10045880 |
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