Design Scientist

A chartered scientist with the Science Council, fellow of the Institute of Science and Technology, of the Design Research Society, and of the Royal Society of Arts, and with a PhD in building urban and peri-urban resilience to major wildfire events, Melissa’s research is principally concerned with redesigning material, information and production systems to sync with those of the natural world. Her earliest interrogations in the field date to the early 90s, when still a student, she conceived the idea of creating apparel collections which, made of biomaterials, could be safely reabsorbed in the environment at the end of use - a concept today known as circular design.

A graduate of the inaugural intake of University of Salford’s Design Practice BA, which pioneered interdisciplinary studies across the fields of fashion, graphics, and spatial design, having completed several years training across both traditional and emerging creative disciplines, including then, ‘new’ media, Melissa launched her first design-led business on graduation. Throughout her twenties and early thirties she held roles as diverse of head of business development in a design company, headhunter of executive talent for leading digital agencies, and copious freelance and other fashion and spatial design jobs. During the latter period, during which she held board roles in first-to-market digital startups, she also co-led decisions on issues of branding and other corporate visual communications.

In her mid thirties, having worked with issues of sustainability more generally throughout her earlier career, and in 2004 founded creative catalyst Societás, which comprised a multi award-winning sustainability innovation think tank, collaborative laboratory and strategic consultancy, Melissa focused her attention on the build environment. In 2008 she cofounded award-winning interdisciplinary collaborative innovation programme New Frontiers to provide opportunities and stimulus for new sustainable design, running a number of seminars on the subject and facilitating online conversations through digital media.

The same year she launched the sustainable design initiative, she embarked on a transdisciplinary investigation into the potential for building greater urban resilience to meteorological and geological hazards through mimicry of the biochemistries, behaviours, and systems of flora and fauna. Her research in the field ongoing, outputs include her PhD, which a first of its kind transdisciplinary programme she designed, funded, and completed at the Advanced Virtual and Technological Architecture Research group [AVATAR], having initiated the programme at the School of Built Environment [SOBE] at University of Salford. Additionally, in 2010 Melissa founded Bionic City®, which seeks to answer the question “how would nature design a city?”, examining the potential of biomimetics, bioengineering, biotechnology biodesign, and biological systems in the built environment in the now, near and far future.

Having completed her doctorate, Melissa created Panarchic Codex® which serves to provide a critical, yet creative perspective on the 'problem' of living with wildfire, while also informing wider exploration of bespoke biomimetic, bioengineered, and biotechnological architectural, urban, and landscape natural hazard interventions. Drawing on leading-edge research from several scientific, technological, humanistic, and artistic domains, the open access project triangulates data spanning myriad forms, disciplines, epochs, and R&D communities.

Most recently Melissa has launched biofuturism consultancy Bioratorium® and its lab Labioratorium® serve to interrogate possible future potentialities of bio-informed, bio-inspired, and bio-material science, technology, engineering, and design. Helping clients to identify possible risks and opportunities, including new products, markets, and business models, services include scenario planning; horizon scanning, trend identification, analysis, and extrapolation; speculative design and design fictions; workshops; strategic advisories, and project mentoring.

In addition to founding and directing her own research projects, Melissa has served as a board-level strategic advisor on scientific, wider STEM, and design issues to wide-ranging corporate, government, and NGO clients worldwide. Client works have ranged from executive briefings to designing workshops and other research activities, keynote talks, and authoring reports, films, and other publications and media that illuminate critical sustainable innovation and wider sustainability issues. She has further served as a media figurehead, presenter, and commentator on design science, foresight, and wider STEM issues, discussing both her own works and that of the wider community, and for both corporate and civic organisations worldwide.

Academically, Melissa’s experience includes guest professor; visiting lecturer; visiting fellow; thesis supervisor, guest critic, external examiner, and workshop host in fields inc. biodesign, biomimetics, socio-ecological systems theory, sustainability and innovation; university assembly member, course leader, and scientific committee member at several leading architecture and design research institutes including The Bartlett [UCL], IaaC, AA School of Architecture, University of the Arts London [UAL], University of Innsbruck, University of Greenwich, University of Salford, Ravensbourne, and AIUL, among others. Her voluntary activities include guest professor with Professors Without Borders, and guest scientist with Lecturers Without Borders.

A member/fellow of several scientific and other STEM institutions, societies, and other networks worldwide, and regular committee member, juror, and advisor to initiatives at the interface of science, design, engineering, and technology, Melissa’s perspective on advancements across these fields spans many communities of research and practice. She is known for championing transdisciplinary thinking and practice, for challenging received wisdom, for raising awareness of innovative concepts, projects, and talents, and for developing novel approaches to research that reflect the potential inherent in emerging and anticipated developments in academia, industry, and commerce.

Her most recent publications include authoring the ‘Design for Wildfire’ chapter in a seminal Routledge publication and coauthoring a report on the problem of nano and micro plastics pollution and possible means of remedy. Find links to select open access publications she has authored on Academia, Researchgate, and here. View Melissa’s resume here, and her biography here.

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, storms 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

Designing experiments and surveys; literary and other reviews; hosting workshops; scenario planning; horizon scanning, trend identification, analysis, and extrapolation; speculative design, design fictions, and post-normal science; authoring reports, papers, articles, and interviews; scripting for film, radio, and other media; delivering strategic advisories and project mentoring; and science communications and public engagement.

5x15

2Degrees Live conference

Accenture

ADAPTr BioSalon

Architecture Conference & Expo

Balfour Beatty

BBC Radio 4

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

Forum for the Built Environment

Future Cities Catapult

Global Research & Innovations in Plastics Sustainability

Greengaged by the Design Council

Grosvenor

Hay Festival

Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia

Interface

International Conference of Bionic Engineering

Inventing the Future conference

Knowledge Transfer Network

London Aware

London Design Biennale

London Design Festival

Longitude Prize

Lux magazine

Manchester International Festival

McGraw-Hill Publishing

McKinsey

Media Ecology & Post Industrial Production conf.

Methven

Ministry of Defence

NESTA

New Engineering Foundation

NSG Group

Oslo Architecture Triennale

Quantum Black

Ravensbourne

Re:Work Cities conference

Routledge

Schneider Electric

Sci-Fi London Film Festival

Science Museum 

Seven

Sheppard Robson

Sherborne Girls

Smart City Futures conference

SOENECS

Space10

Startalk Live

SUEZ group

Sustainable Business in Practice conference

Sustainable Design Network Annual Seminar

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

Tomorrow's Natural Business conference

Toyota Motors Europe

UK Aware expo

Unbox conference

Unilever

University College London

University College of Estate Management

University College of the Arts

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

World Bank

World Congress on Sustainable Technologies

Write the Future conference

UBM