Zoe Laughlin Explained

Zoe Laughlin
Known For:Making, art, materials science and engineering
Website:http://zoelaughlin.com/

Zoe Laughlin is a British artist, maker and materials engineer. She is the co-founder and Director of the Institute of Making at University College London. She is a regular panelist on the BBC Radio 4 show The Kitchen Cabinet. Laughlin was awarded the 2019 Inspire, Support Achieve Award for Design Engineering from the Institution of Engineering Designers.

Education

Laughlin took A-Levels in Art, Textiles and English Literature[1] and completed a Masters of Art at Central Saint Martin's College of Art and Design. She earned a PhD in Material Science in the Department of Engineering at King's College London in 2010.[2]

Research

During her PhD, Laughlin discovered how materials affects the taste of food, and how to predict the taste of food using electrode potential.[3] [4] Her thesis, "Beyond the Swatch: How can the Science of Materials be Represented by the Materials Themselves in a Materials Library?", became the basis for the methodological approaches of the Institute of Making and some of its research.[5] [6] The experiments Laughlin undertook were designed to identify the links between the physical properties of materials and our aesthetic perception of materiality.[7] As a result, she has been key to the development of the concept of Sensoaesthetics, which is the "application of scientific methodology to the aesthetic, sensual and emotional side" of materials.[8]

Career

In 2010/11, Mark Miodownik, Martin Conreen and Laughlin began working on the Institute of Making, which they planned to open in the east wing of Somerset House.[9] In February 2012, they joined University College London, and launched "A Taste of Materials" in April 2012.[10] She published Material Matters: New Materials in Design with Black Dog Publishing.[11] Their Materials Library and Make Space opened in Malet Place on 14 March 2013.[12] [13] [14]

Laughlin has created work and done projects with partners and galleries including Tate Modern, the Hayward Gallery, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Wellcome Collection.[15] [16] [17] In 2016 her spoons became part of the new permanent collection of London's Design Museum and are on display in the Designer Maker User gallery.[18]

Laughlin is interested in the sound of and taste of materials, as well as what she terms "the performativity of matter".[19] She regularly speaks about materials and performs demonstration lectures.[20] [21] In 2012 she delivered a TEDx talk in Brussels on "The Performativity of Matter".[22]

She is a trustee of the Crafts Council, and works with them to integrate new materials and making methods into the crafts sector.[23] [24] Laughlin was honoured by the Institution of Engineering Designers for her "outstanding contributions to design engineering".[25]

Laughlin produces and hosts the podcast The Things that Make Us.[26] [27] She appears regularly on British radio and television, and gives invited talks on material science in Britain and around the world.[28] [29] [30] She has appeared on the Today Programme and "The Material Word" with Quentin Cooper.[31] [32] [33] In 2016, Laughlin delivered an invited talk at The Royal Institution, "Performing Matter: Greatest Hits and New Findings".[34]

Broadcasting

This Morning

Laughlin was the resident scientist on ITV's long running series This Morning, hosting the regular bi-weekly feature "Wonderstuff".[35] [36] On the show, Laughlin introduced Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby to many marvellous materials and conducted numerous demonstrations including smelting copper and turning milk to plastic.[37] [38] [39] In 2019 she returned to the show with a bang for a run of spectacular demonstrations[40] including dripping a monster slime from the studio ceiling[41] and ripping oxygen from hydrogen peroxide.[42]

The Kitchen Cabinet

Laughlin was asked on to BBC Radio 4's The Kitchen Cabinet as a guest in 2015 and has since become their resident materials expert.[43] The May 2016 episode, from Sandwich, Kent, was recorded in Laughlin's old school hall.[44]

Big Life Fix

Laughlin was a maker of tea on the BBC Two television programme Big Life Fix.[45] [46] [47] In the show, a team of designers and inventors created solutions, often as simple as repurposing everyday objects, to change people's lives.[48] [49] On the show, Laughlin designed a number of items, including a lightweight, durable foam helmet for a child who suffers from hydrocephalus.[50] Laughlin described the experience as "a great show to be part of".[51] In Series 2, "Inventing the Impossible: Big Life Fix" Laughlin made a "second skin" for a young man with Xeroderma Pigmentosum[52] [53] and a pair of robotic gloves that gave movement back to a man with paralysed hands.[54]

Fireworks for a Tudor Queen

In 2017 Laughlin and Lucy Worsley presented a 90-minute BBC Four programme exploring the history of fireworks, Fizz Bang Wallop - A Tudor Firework Spectacular.[55] The show, Fireworks for a Tudor Queen, was broadcast in March 2018.

The Secret Life of Landfill

In the spring of 2018 Laughlin and George McGavin made a BBC Four documentary The Secret Life of Landfill: A Rubbish History, exploring the fate and future of rubbish deposited in landfill sites.[56] [57]

The Secret Story of Stuff

In summer 2018 Laughlin wrote and presented her own show for BBC Four entitled The Secret Story of Stuff: Materials for the Modern Age, blending "bonhomie, excitement and expertise in perfect proportions".[58] In the programme she performed a number of demonstrations to reveal the wonderous properties of materials, including a test of the thermally insulative equalities of mycelium using a high-powered blow touch and ice-cream.[59] [60] The show was first broadcast in the autumn of 2018 and has subsequently been repeated.[61]

Plane Spotting Live

Over the course of 3 consecutive nights in June 2019, Laughlin co-presented Plane Spotting Live[62] for BBC Four with Peter Snow and Andi Peters. The programme was broadcast live from a set constructed on East Midlands Aeropark, alongside the runway of East Midlands Airport.[63]

How to Make

In How to Make,[64] Laughlin deconstructs everyday items - training shoes, a toothbrush, and a pair of headphones - examining the materials they're made of and re-making a customised version of each. This BBC Four series first aired on 2 April 2020 and was produced in connection with the Open University.

Television appearances

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Science talk on 'Performing Matter' engages girls. Bryan. Stephanie. www.stmaryscalne.org. en-gb. 2018-02-22.
  2. Web site: Zoe Laughlin - Research Portal, King's College, London. kclpure.kcl.ac.uk. en. 2018-02-22.
  3. 2011-10-01. The use of standard electrode potentials to predict the taste of solid metals. Food Quality and Preference. en. 22. 7. 628–637. 10.1016/j.foodqual.2011.03.012. 0950-3293. Laughlin. Zoe. Conreen. Martin. Witchel. Harry J.. Miodownik. Mark.
  4. Tasting spoons: Assessing how the material of a spoon affects the taste of the food. 1. 24–29. Food Quality and Preference. 24. 10.1016/j.foodqual.2011.08.005. April 2012.
  5. Web site: Sensoaesthetic Materials - Research. Institute of Making. en. 2018-02-24.
  6. News: UCL Institute of Making's cabinet of curiosities. 2013-04-18. Times Higher Education (THE). 2018-02-25. en.
  7. Book: Materials experience: fundamentals of materials and design . Karana, Elvin . Pedgley, Owain . Rognoli, Valentina . 978-0-08-099376-8. Oxford . Elsevier . 862961523. 2013-10-24.
  8. Web site: Sensoaesthetic materials.
  9. Web site: Materials engineer Mark Miodownik - The Engineer. www.theengineer.co.uk. en-UK. 2018-02-22. 2011-10-16.
  10. Web site: A Taste of Materials - UCL Engineering. www.engineering.ucl.ac.uk. 9 February 2018 . en-GB. 2018-02-22.
  11. Book: Material matters: new materials in design. Howes, Philip. 2012. Black Dog Pub. Laughlin, Zoe, 1981-. 978-1-907317-73-6. London. 744288230.
  12. Web site: First Year Report: Institute of Making. 2014. UCL. 2018-02-22.
  13. Web site: Materials - Materials Library. Institute of Making. en. 2018-02-22.
  14. Web site: open movement°. open movement°. en. 2018-02-22.
  15. News: The Stuff of Memory: Symposium. 2015-07-13. 2018-02-22.
  16. Web site: Launch: Playing Up – Live Art for adults and kids – Special Event at Tate Modern . Tate. en-GB. 2018-02-22.
  17. Web site: The Essence of Flourescence [sic] at the Hayward Gallery. Institute of Making. en. 2018-02-22.
  18. Web site: Designer Maker User. Design Museum. en-GB . 2018-02-24.
  19. Web site: Zoe Laughlin - RSA. www.thersa.org. 2018-02-22.
  20. Web site: RSA Makers Summit 2015 - RSA. www.thersa.org. 2 December 2015 . 2018-02-22.
  21. Web site: Making Matters - RSA. www.thersa.org. 4 July 2017 . 2018-02-22.
  22. News: The Big Bang Event. 2012-11-30. ZN Consulting. 2018-02-22. en-US.
  23. Web site: Session 1: Materials - Crafts Council. www.craftscouncil.org.uk. 2018-02-22.
  24. Web site: Zoe Laughlin: Executive Profile & Biography - Bloomberg. www.bloomberg.com. 2018-02-22.
  25. Web site: IED Home Page. Institution Engineering Designers . 2019-07-08.
  26. Web site: The Things That Make Us by Zoe Laughlin. Apple Podcasts. 2 October 2016 . en. 2018-02-22.
  27. Web site: Podcast. The Things That Make Us. 3 October 2016 . en-US. 2018-02-22.
  28. Web site: Fourth Annual Alumni Dinner. www.cs.ucl.ac.uk. en. 2018-02-22.
  29. News: Rachel Pimm in conversation with Zoe Laughlin. Jerwood Visual Arts. 2018-02-22. en-GB.
  30. Web site: Zoe Laughlin: The Performativity of Matter. brunswick. 2012-08-28. Science Gallery. en. 2018-02-22.
  31. Web site: BBC - Radio 4 - The Material World 05/04/2007. www.bbc.co.uk. en. 2018-02-22.
  32. Web site: BBC - Radio 4 - The Material World 2/3/2006. www.bbc.co.uk. en. 2018-02-22.
  33. Web site: Can the metal from a spoon affect your taste?, 29/01/2015, Today - BBC Radio 4. BBC. 29 January 2015 . en-GB. 2018-02-22.
  34. News: Performing matter: Greatest hits and new findings. 2018-02-22. en.
  35. News: Dr Zoe Laughlin. 2018-02-22.
  36. News: Ketchup with Wonderstuff. 2018-02-22.
  37. News: Wonderstuff finds fun in everyday objects. 2018-02-22.
  38. News: Wonderstuff makes magic metal. 2018-02-22.
  39. News: Thanks to today's Wonderstuff team!. 2018-02-22.
  40. Web site: Science experiments to blow your mind!. www.itv.com. 2020-02-18.
  41. Web site: This Morning's Phil looks unimpressed after experiment gets slime on shoes. Warner. Sam. 2019-04-04. Digital Spy. en-GB. 2020-02-18.
  42. News: Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield wreak havoc on This Morning studio with explosive science experiment . Katie . Rosseinsky . . 2019-04-04 . 2024-06-12.
  43. Web site: The Kitchen Cabinet. Zoe Laughlin. en-US. 2018-02-22.
  44. Web site: Sandwich, Series 13, The Kitchen Cabinet - BBC Radio 4. BBC. en-GB. 2018-02-22.
  45. Web site: CCHQ Weekly Round-up, 2 December 2016 - Crafts Council. www.craftscouncil.org.uk. 2018-02-22.
  46. News: Simon Reeve: 'The Big Life Fix will help thousands of people!'. 2017-11-07. What' s on TV. 2018-02-22. en-US.
  47. Web site: Series 1, The Big Life Fix with Simon Reeve - Zoe Laughlin - BBC Two. BBC. en-GB. 2018-02-22.
  48. Web site: Using science to change lives: 'The Big Life Fix with Simon Reeve'. theboar.org. en-GB. 2018-02-22.
  49. Web site: The Big Life Fix. Zoe Laughlin. en-US. 2018-02-22.
  50. News: Shine member Rosie receives the best Christmas present…. Shine Charity . 2018-02-22. en.
  51. Web site: Making Space. www.ucl.ac.uk. en. 2018-02-22. 2017-10-30.
  52. Web site: Man with sun allergy gets mask that looks exactly like him to stop skin frying. 2018-07-30. Metro. en. 2020-02-18.
  53. Web site: BBC Two - The Big Life Fix, Inventing the Impossible, Episode 1, Meet Alex - the man allergic to sunlight. BBC. 3 August 2018 . en-GB. 2020-02-18.
  54. Web site: BBC Two - The Big Life Fix, Inventing the Impossible, Episode 3. BBC. en-GB. 2020-02-18.
  55. Web site: BBC - BBC Four - Media Centre. www.bbc.co.uk. en-GB. 2018-02-23.
  56. News: Walton . James . I had no idea how fascinating rubbish could be: The Secret Life of Landfill reviewed . 7 September 2018 . . 25 August 2018.
  57. Web site: The Secret Life of Landfill: A Rubbish History . BBC Four . 7 September 2018.
  58. News: Mangan. Lucy. The Secret Story of Stuff review – inventions provoke awe and wonder – and hope. 2018-10-31. The Guardian. 2020-02-18. en-GB. 0261-3077.
  59. Web site: BBC Four - The Secret Story of Stuff: Materials of the Modern Age, Mushroom mycelium makes ingenius insulation. BBC. 29 October 2018 . en-GB. 2020-02-18.
  60. News: Mangan. Lucy. The Secret Story of Stuff review – inventions provoke awe and wonder – and hope. 2018-10-31. The Guardian. 2020-02-18. en-GB. 0261-3077.
  61. Web site: BBC Four - The Secret Story of Stuff: Materials of the Modern Age. BBC. en-GB. 2020-02-18.
  62. Web site: BBC Four - Planespotting Live. BBC. en-GB. 2020-02-18.
  63. Web site: planespottinglive. Williams. Ken. www.eastmidlandsaeropark.org. en-gb. 2020-02-18.
  64. Web site: BBC Four - How to Make. BBC. en-GB. 2020-04-03.
  65. Web site: BBC - Christmas University Challenge alumni line-up announced - Media Centre. www.bbc.co.uk. 2019-01-02.

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