FAB LAB Residents

Materials are fundamental to craft. Accordingly, the goal of Fiona Bell’s residency is to develop a Materials Library at Haystack that can be built upon in the future. The collection will be organized by material type and cataloged to provide information regarding composition, properties, methods, and potential applications. Existing materials will include manufacturer information while do-it-yourself materials will be accompanied by recipes. By building this collection, others at Haystack can learn more about materials and add new materials to the Library.

Fiona Bell (she/her) is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Computer Science at the University of New Mexico, developing sustainable biomaterials at the intersection of material science, biodesign, and human-computer interaction.

During her residency, Kate Reed will share her work and discuss the properties of fibers, shapes, and forms that we encounter in nature. This work is intended to foster reflection on the intersection of art and nature, weaving together conversation, craft, and exploration in the great outdoors. As part of the residency, Reed will offer an immersive hike for session participants, during which they will gather natural materials to create woven pieces, exploring the structures and textures found in the environment.

Kate Reed (she/her) specializes in building machines, modifying biology, augmenting the body, and growing technology to build wearable technology that connects humans and computers with the natural world.

During her residency, Sophia Brueckner will explore and reimagine the future of technology through speculative design and hands-on prototyping. Drawing from her expertise in art, engineering, and science fiction, she will lead informal pop-up workshops that explore the intersection of digital fabrication, traditional media, and critical technology ethics. As part of these, participants will create both physical and digital artifacts, experimenting with projects like merging unexpected textile patterns or building robotic creatures that question the boundaries between human and non-human art. This collaborative experience will inspire attendees to think critically and creatively about how technology shapes our world and how we can influence it for a more positive, equitable future.

Sophia Brueckner (she/her) is an artist/engineer and Associate Professor at the University of Michigan.

Throughout this residency, Beth Ferguson will continue research and share relevant projects including biomaterial fabrication, solar charging stations for future mobility, 3D-printed shoes with fish leather, and 3D-printed clay filtration systems with aquatic plants. She expects to  invite session participants to learn how Makerspaces can be hubs for climate action and sustainable material experimentation. Through this information, it is her intention that participants will gain valuable insights and practical tips to prototype climate adaptation tools and strategies using sustainable materials and digital fabrication with circularity in mind.

Beth Ferguson (she/her) is a designer whose practice blends solar design, digital fabrication, and public engagement, focusing on climate action for a warming planet.

Every day we are increasingly surrounded by algorithms, chatbots, and language models that alienate us from the art, craft, and materiality of intelligence. But does digital intelligence have to be behind screens, trapped inside tiny chips, or tucked in faraway data centers? Throughout this residency, Orkan Telhan and Dietmar Offenhuber will work on reservoir computing and autographic systems, exploring unconventional methods of computing to create physical systems that grow, live, learn, and think with us. They will share their work with the session community and invite individuals to explore algorithms with plants and microorganisms, build mycelium computers, and bring analog, digital, and biological ideas together to explore a new craft of intelligence.

Orkan Telhan (he/him) investigates art and craft of unconventional intelligence, including critical issues in cultural, environmental, and social responsibility.

Dietmar Offenhuber (he/him) is an Information Designer and researcher interested in Material Information.

Digital fabrication offers new opportunities for craft, but contemporary digital fabrication technologies reinforce industrial manufacturing conventions. Jennifer Jacob’s research lab seeks to support skilled craftspeople by reimagining digital fabrication machines as extensions of traditional craft tools with a focus on the domain of ceramics. Jacobs’s and Ilan Moyers’s work focuses on developing new clay 3D printing mechanisms that preserve the look and feel of manual pottery tools and new interfaces that allow potters to integrate automated fabrication with manual control. This work situates technologies in craft communities to co-design products and workflows that reflect a craft-centric vision of digital fabrication. During their residency, Jacobs and Moyer will share the work they create on campus, and at times during the two-week session, invite workshop participants to engage with these digital fabrication tools.

Jennifer Jacobs (she/her) is an Assistant Professor at the University of California Santa Barbara and the Director of Expressive Computation. She is developing new clay 3D printing mechanisms that preserve the look and feel of manual pottery tools.

Ilan Moyer (he/him) is a PhD student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He builds digital fabrication tools for craftspeople.

Throughout the residency, Jiyoo Jye and Nathan Melenbrink will focus on design research, exploring a modular assembly system enhanced with embedded electronics to create an intuitive construction experience. The system integrates color-coded LEDs that light up sequentially, guiding users through the next assembly steps. By embedding instructive visual cues directly into each module, the assembly process becomes more accessible, reducing reliance on traditional, text-heavy instructions. Through this work, they aim to streamline the learning curve and enable efficient, user-friendly assembly across various applications.

Jiyoo Jye (she/her) is on a quest for creative inquiry, the role of the arts, and doing crafts.

Nathan Melenbrink (he/him) is a designer, researcher, and educator specializing in digital fabrication, construction automation, and sustainable design.

Jake Horsey’s residency will focus on and model how further developing the tools and techniques used for exploring what is possible with petroleum-free polymers is key to accelerating their adoption. Laser welding of plastic films is already a well established method of fabrication for fluidic devices, often gated by high cost and expert knowledge. Low cost, low energy, desktop CO2 lasers present a unique opportunity for material researchers and product developers to build functional, high fidelity prototypes with a piece of equipment that is often already sitting in the lab or studio.

Jake Horsey (he/him) is a product engineer and fabricator based in Sargentville, ME.

3D printing combined with traditional crafting techniques can change how we create. This hybrid approach lowers the bar for entry and increases the ability to craft more intricate forms. By integrating bio-based and recycled materials into the workflow, Che-Wei Wang will be building structures that can be more sustainable, efficient, and environmentally friendly. The printed forms are intended to serve as scaffolds, molds, or be embedded as structural components. This fast approach to making allows a maker to explore a wide range of material combinations towards new crafting techniques. Throughout his residency, Wang will develop printed forms and experiment with various materials to explore possible uses and outcomes, and will share these experiments with session participants.

Che-Wei Wang [pron. sey-wey] (he/him) is a multidisciplinary artist, designer, architect, and engineer who creates innovative works that merge advanced fabrication technologies with inventive design.