Manini Banerjee

Systems Designer & Research Engineer making environmental complexity legible and actionable.

COMPUTATIONAL ECOLOGY:

BIOPOD Co.
ECOLOGY · INFRASTRUCTURE · SYSTEMS
Designing deployable ecological infrastructure for wetland restoration based on environmental research.

Ecological AI

PREDICTION · INTERFACE · DATA
A Decision-Support System for Targeted Ecosystem Restoration.

Algorithmic Morphogenesis

BIO-COMPUTATION · DATA MATERIALIZATION
inscribing real-time human neurological data (EEG) into living algal morphology using phototactic actuation

HARDWARE & INTERFACES:

Threads

EDGE ML · HARDWARE · TEXTILES
Sentient Surfaces + Edge ML on Textiles. Human-AI Symbiosis through Ubiquitous Computing.

S(kin)-orb
HAPTICS · BIOSENSING · AFFECTIVE COMP. A bio-digital interface translating electromyographic (EMG) signals into haptic feedback for remote affective communication.

Vermiform

COMPONENT · SOFT ROBOTICS · WEARABLE
Bio-mimetic architectures for wearable computing.

Chito-bot
BIOCOMPOSITES · TRANSIENT ELECTRONICS
Investigating material compliance and structural integrity in bio-composite hexapods.

STRATEGIC SYSTEMS:

PFV

MOBILITY · ECOLOGY · SYSTEMS

Autonomous Mobility as Urban Bio-Infrastructure.

Aero

SENSING · MATERIALS · DATA
Developing robotic material systems for localized air-quality sensing and pollutant sequestration through embedded environmental intelligence.

Bio - intelligence
COPMUTATION · SYSTEMS · BIOLOGY
Exploring biological computation as an alternative model for system intelligence and control.

Living Materials

Creating multifunctional living materials to conduct ecosystem services

Currently under NDA

Details
Living systems design • Microbiological Culture • Plant Biology • Microscopy

Date
2024

Team
Manini Banerjee

Mentor
Giulia Giudetti • Fiorenzo Omenetto

As over half the world now resides in dense, high-rise urban environments, the need for sustainable materials that integrate ecological services becomes increasingly urgent. Bio-based and "living" materials, capable of growth, regeneration, and environmental adaptation, offer a way to reduce dependence on synthetic materials while enhancing ecological resilience within urban spaces.

Traditional architecture has often degraded ecological functions, but by designing with these dynamic materials, urban structures can support essential ecosystem services, from carbon sequestration to air purification.

This approach proposes a new architecture and urban design model, where constructed environments augment natural systems, fostering symbiosis between human and non-human agents. In an era of climate crisis and urban expansion, these living materials hold the potential to transform cities into thriving, ecologically rich habitats, renewing the essential balance between the built and natural worlds.