The Skin as an Interactive Platform -Katia Canepa Vega

NISTH Think Out: Debate Series

The Interactive Organisms Lab leads new explorations of organisms-device symbiosis by blurring the lines between living forms, design, and technology. This talk will present novel interfaces in/around the skin such as Beauty Technology (electronics embedded into cosmetics), Body Modification Technologies (biosensors into tattoos or dental orthodontics for health monitoring), and Growable Interfaces (sustainable interfaces through bio-based materials as a substrate for circuitry such as mycelium for wearables and interactive objects).
About the Speaker
Katia Vega is an Assistant Professor of the Department of Design at the University of California, Davis, where she founded and directs the Interactive Organisms Lab. She was a Postdoc Associate at MIT Media Lab (USA). She got her PhD and master’s degree in computer science at PUC-Rio (Brazil). She was a researcher in the Fine Arts Department at HKBU (Hong Kong). Her undergraduate studies were done in Computer Science at UNMSM (Peru). She publishes at top-tier computer science conferences and journals including CHI, TEI, DIS, IUI and IEEE Computer. Her work has been featured by BBC, New Scientist, Wired, Discovery, CNN,, and awarded by SXSW, Ars Electronica, Johnson & Johnson, CNET, among others. Springer published her book: “Beauty Technology: Designing Seamless Interfaces for Wearable Computing”.