<nettime-ann> CFP: Material Computing, a special issue of Personal and U

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CALL FOR PAPERS

Journal of Personal and Ubiquitous Computing

A Special Issue on "Material Computing"

For more information see: http://ambient.media.mit.edu/materialcomputing/index.html

A fantastic class of new materials is blurring the boundaries between computation and physical form, and as a result bringing computer science into the realms of a host of other disciplines, among them architecture, biology, chemistry, fashion design, and mechanical engineering. Responsive and computationally controllable materials -- shape-changing polymers, e-textiles, and nano-scale electronics, just to name a few -- are positioned to provide the underpinnings of truly ubiquitous interactivity that extends invisibly across body, architectural and urban scales.

This special issue of Personal and Ubiquitous Computing will focus on the use of such materials as the physical and computational bridge between form and function, body and environment, structures and membranes. Rather than focusing on approaches that employ sensors and actuators as discrete add-on components, this issue will emphasize technologies that blur the gap between computation and materiality, and between traditionally distinct disciplines.

We hope to spark a conversation between researchers and practitioners from a variety of scientific, engineering, and design disciplines (e.g. ubiquitous computing, materials science, architecture, biology, fashion, and HCI) in order to shed light on the possibilities and limitations of new material technologies, and to illustrate how we will build, interact and live with computers well into the future.

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TOPICS

In addition to the issues already noted, topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

* Relevant developments in materials science, mechanical engineering, chemistry, biological engineering, nanotechnology, electrical engineering, textile engineering, and other fields, coupled with thoughtful speculation about applications

* Systems that integrate computation with new or unusual materials and composites

* Relationship between materials, form, and function in interaction design

* Needs served and possibilities exposed by responsive materials

* Long-term scenarios for ubiquitous applications built on responsive materials

* Relationship between membrane and structure in design

* Craft, collaborative development, and community knowledge

* Applications that span multiple fields and act as seeds for collaboration

* Relationship between new materials, manufacturing technologies, and computer aided design

* Sustainability issues exposed by the use of responsive material composites

* Biologically inspired design (e.g. biomimetics, self-assembly, morpho-functional design)

* Material driven multi-functionality, adaptability, and personalization

* Materials that function as the binding matter in the design of objects, garments, and spaces.

* Responsive Materials applied in an artistic or performative context

* Tangible interfaces

* Robotics

* Programmable matter

* Smart materials

* Electronic textiles, computational textiles, smart textiles

* Parametric design

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SUBMISSION INFORMATION

All submissions should be sent to the guest editors at materialcomputing@media.mit.edu. Authors must submit abstracts and titles to the guest editors by October 1, 2008, and full papers by November 14, 2008.

Information about the format and style required for papers can be found at http://www.springer.com/computer/user+interfaces/journal/779, and templates can be downloaded from ftp://ftp.springer.de/pub/Word/journals. More information about the Journal of Personal and Ubiquitous Computing can be found at http://www.springerlink.com/content/106503/. However, all submissions and questions for the special issue should be sent to the guest editors, not the journal's editor in chief.

All submissions will be anonymously reviewed by at least three reviewers and the selection for publication will be made on the basis of these reviews.

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IMPORTANT DATES

Intention to submit (Abstract and Title): October 1, 2008

Submission deadline for full papers: November 14, 2008

Notification and reviews to authors: January 16, 2009

Camera ready submission deadline: February 6, 2009

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GUEST EDITORS

Please direct all inquiries and submissions to the guest editors: materialcomputing@media.mit.edu

Leah Buechley

University of Colorado at Boulder

Department of Computer Science