The Tangible Media Group explores the idea of Radical Atoms, a vision for the future of human-material interaction, to seamlessly couple the dual world of bits and atoms by giving dynamic physical form to digital computation and information. Radical Atoms is the future of materials that can transform their shape, conform to constraints, and inform users of their affordances. Radical Atoms takes a leap beyond our original Tangible Bits vision by assuming a hypothetical generation of physical materials that is computationally transformable and reconfigurable, bidirectionally coupled with an underlying digital model (bits) so that dynamic changes of physical form can be reflected in digital states in real time, and vice versa. http://tangible.media.mit.edu/vision
The Tangible Media Group seeks creative, technically competent, hard-working, and team-oriented graduate students. Applicants are expected to have a strong interest in HCI (Human-Computer Interaction) research and experience in Interaction Design. Successful applicants possess varied technical and design skills in computer programming, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, as well as interaction/product/architectural design. Oral and written communication skills are essential, as work is regularly presented to visitors and submitted to major conferences and journals. http://tangible.media.mit.edu/contact-admission/#admission
A full application should include a portfolio of past work (designs, publications, patents, etc.) as well as a description of technical skills, experiences and research interests. If you decide to apply to the Tangible Media Group, please email a full resume and link to your portfolio to tangible-admission [at] media [dot] mit [dot] edu in addition to completing the official application.
