Materials are a defining characteristic of society. The ages of civilization are named after materials and the development of new materials do more than simple transform technology: they change behaviour and shape the urban landscape, from our cities and our hospitals, to our homes and our art.

Mark's book "Stuff Matters: The Strange Stories of the Marvellous Materials that Shape Our Manmade World" is available to buy now https://www.amazon.co.uk/StuffMatter...

In this Ri Discourse, Professor Mark Miodownik introduces us to the innovations that are shaping a new materials age, one that blurs the fundamental distinction between living and nonliving things and challenges the very notion of material itself.

From ferrofluid to the revolution that is 3D printing, Mark points to the materials and innovations that will shape our future. Just as bionic limbs and synthetic organs are becoming the norm so our manmade environment is also changing to become more lifelike. Are living buildings and objects that healthemselves are on the horizon?

This Friday Evening Discourse was held at the Royal Institution of Great Britain on 22 February 2013.

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