Biofuturist

Specialising in futures in the built environment, design, manufacturing, technology, engineering, utilities, publishing, media and communications, Melissa consults to both private and public sector clients globally. As a folio professional whose careers spans executive functions at the edge of innovation across several fast-moving future-focused sectors, her knowledge integrates both hands-on experience of dealing with risks and opportunities in and beyond the market place, and post-PhD level scientific and technical expertise.

Having completed her first foresight works while still an undergraduate student, futures research has been a fundamental part of her practice ever since. Her every executive role having involved working on pioneering concepts in yet to be established fields, she is well-versed in the issues that shape how, why, and when new ideas catalyse new products, services, and markets, while disrupting and displacing others. As a chartered scientist with a PhD that involved researching a problem at the apex of Earth and human systems, and developing possible theoretical and practical solutions based on emerging, anticipated, and potential near to medium term future developments in and beyond STEM, she is adept at challenging received wisdom and assumptions about futures issues.

Melissa’s experience of foresight and wider futures practice is wide-ranging and includes researching, developing, and directing first-in-kind models, products, services, and markets; curating workshops, surveys, experiments, and other participatory research methods; authoring reports, papers, articles, opinion pieces, short films, podcasts, and other media; giving keynotes and other talks and presentations on futures issues; participating as a panellist, panel chair, moderator, and facilitator of debates and discussions in-person, online, and hybrids of both; serving as a media figurehead, ambassador, and senior press liaison for futures-orientated campaigns; creating speculative fictions, design fictions, and other futures-focused creative works; writing short, flash, and micro fictions for print, digital, film, and other audio visual formats; and advising film and tv producers, directors, and other creators on both near and far futures issues.

In addition to having worked on futures briefs for clients spanning several continents, Melissa has served as a member of numerous committees, boards, juries, and other collectives concerned with evaluating leading-edge concepts across fields including architecture and urban design; materials; product, furniture, and interior design; fashion and textile design; visual arts and communications; advertising and campaigns; scientific and medical technologies; and fast moving consumer goods. A fellow of the Institute of Science and Technology, of the Design Research Society, and of the Royal Society of Arts, she has further served as a visiting academic across the roles of professor, lecturer, fellow, guest critic, thesis supervisor, external examiner, course leader, and assembly member to several leading design, architecture, and built environment schools and other research institutions across Europe. These and other credentials give her a 360° perspective on the potentialities within and beyond her specialist fields in the near, medium, and far future.

While her knowledge of futures is diverse, her research focus is on issues at the interface of human and non-human systems. As relates to climate change, having first researched the problem while still in school, and contributed to now many projects that deal with its many facets, she is expert in both the scientific and wider issues, including as relates to business, economy, and wider society. A champion of environmental issues more generally for many years, including the need to reduce biodiversity loss, pollution, and resource shortages, sustainability issues have been addressed in her futures work since the outset. A woman that walks her talk, Melissa vets her clients’ sustainability and ethical credentials and actively boycotts working with companies that fail to show a commitment to raising, not lowering environmental and social standards.

Melissa’s interest in nature-inspired design dates to her teens, when she first learned of the works of Leonardo de Vinci during a study trip to Florence. She produced her first works in the field in the early 90s - an apparel collection designed to safely biodegrade back into the environment at the end of use - while still an undergraduate studying on an interdisciplinary design degree. Her interest in that initial concept, which went onto be known as circular design - extends to the present day, and is central to three of her current works: Bionic City® [Est. 2010], which asking “how would nature design a city?”, explores the potential of biomimetics, biotechnology and biology in the built environment in the now, near and far future; Panarchic Codex® [Est. 2018], which serves as the platform for her post-PhD research and publishing, developing a new paradigm in wildland urban interface resilience to wildfires through the creation of complex adaptive architectural and urban systems that mimic the biochemistries, behaviours, and systems of flora and fauna species and their affiliated fire-regimes; and biofuturism consultancy Bioratorium® and its lab Labioratorium® [Est. 2019], which serves to interrogate possible future potentialities of bio-informed, bio-inspired, and bio-material science, technology, engineering, and design. 

As an author of speculative, climate, and science fiction shorts and film concepts, Melissa’s honours include finalist positions in the New Scientist / Sci-Fi London film concept competition and the New Scientist / Arc magazine sci-fi film science competition, and an Honourable Mention in the Millennium Writing Awards. Science fiction projects she has cofounded include the Future in Flash™ [Est. 2019], which creates scientifically-plausible climate fictions through mixed art mediums.

As a speaker on futures issues, Melissa has delivered numerous talks to wide-ranging audiences worldwide, including keynotes at international trade, academic, and public conferences, seminars, and festivals, as well as speeches, provocations, and other presentations at product launches, award ceremonies, dinners, annual meetings, and more. She has participated in debates and discussions both live and pre-recorded for formats including radio, digital, and hybrid. Known for her thought-provoking, expansive, creative, and challenging take on issues and ideas, her work has been cited in among other places, Neil deGrasse Tyson’s book, Startalk: Everything You Ever Need to Know About Space, Travel, Sci-Fi, the Human Race, the Universe and Beyond.

Melissa is listed in the Top 100 most influential futurists worldwide in the Futurist Influence Rankings, and ranked a top thirty female futurist.

Read Melissa’s wider biography here, her resume here, and see her futures press and media folio at the link below.

Expertise

Primary fields of expertise are planetary and biofutures inc. biodesign, bioscience, bioengineering, biotechnology, and biourbansim; emerging material, information, and production systems and their applications in science, commerce, industry, and wider society; ecological design and urban and peri-urban resilience to hazards inc. wildfires, floods, storm systems and other natural, human, and hybrid events; transdisciplinary, complexity and systems theory and practice; sustainable innovation and enterprise in fields including design, technology, manufacturing, utilities, and the built environment; and corporate social responsibility, environmental social governance, and business ethics.

Skills

Identifying possible future opportunities and risks, including new products, markets, and models; scenario planning; horizon scanning, trend identification, analysis, and extrapolation; speculative design and design fictions; designing and hosting workshops and other participatory research; strategic advisories; project curating, critiquing, and mentoring; delivering keynote talks, provocations, and other in-person and virtual presentations; and authoring reports, articles, opinion pieces, books, fictions, and scripts.

5x15

2Degrees Live conference

A20 Technologies

Accenture

ADAPTr BioSalon

Aegis Media Russia

Akin Gump

Architecture Conference & Expo

Balfour Beatty

Bathroom Manufacturers Association

BioChanges at RCA

BioEngineering Congress

Canadian Institute of Planners

Chartered Institute of Building

City of Greater Dandenong

Clerkenwell Design Week

Coventry University

CRG Exchange

Ecobuild conference

Edinburgh International Science Festival

easyJet

European Centre for Ecotoxicology & Toxicology of Chemicals

Festival of the Future City

Fladgate

Forum for the Built Environment

Future Cities Catapult

Global Research & Innovations in Plastics Sustainability

Greengaged by the Design Council

Grosvenor

Hershey's

Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia

Interface

International Conference of Bionic Engineering

Inventing the Future conference

Knowledge Transfer Network

London Design Biennale

London Design Festival

Longitude Prize

Lux magazine

LuxExpo

Manchester International Festival

McKinsey

Media Ecology & Post Industrial Production conf.

Methven

Ministry of Defence

NeoNext Berlin

NESTA

New Engineering Foundation

NSG Group

Oslo Architecture Triennale

Quantum Black

Ravensbourne

Re:Work Cities conference

Schneider Electric

Sci-Fi London Film Festival

Science Museum 

Seven

Sheppard Robson

Smart City Futures conference

Space10

Springwise

Startalk Live

Studio Into

SUEZ group

Sustainable Business in Practice conference

Sustainable Design Network Annual Seminar

Taylor Herring

TEDxLSE - London School of Economics

The Drum - 4 Minute Warning conference

The Future We Want conference

The Future of Housing conference

The Future We Choose launch

The Monument - Masterclasses

The Woman leadership conference

Tomorrow's Natural Business conference

Toyota Motors Europe

UK Aware expo

Unbox conference

Unilever

University College London

University College of Estate Management

University of the Arts London

University of Cambridge - Festival of Ideas

University of Greenwich

University of Oxford - Climate Forum

University of Salford

University of Warwick

V&A Museum

Vision London: The Future of the Built Environment

WILD: ReNaturing the City

Wilderness festival

Women's Social Leadership Awards

World Bank

World Congress on Sustainable Technologies

Write the Future conference

UBM