Opening Keynote

Aleatory Assemblies: Designing with Chance and Material Agency.

Prof. Heinrich Jaeger (University of Chicago, Physics)

Keynote Abstract:

From synthesizing proteins to fabricating architectural-scale structures, assembling building blocks into larger, more complex configurations typically requires precision and deliberate choices for placement. What if instead this placement and the resulting adjacencies are determined by chance? What if the building blocks now develop their own agency — where they can adapt and find their own responses to structural or environmental contexts? In this talk I will discuss how such aleatory assembly has led to a new framework for understanding how mechanical rigidity can emerge even in completely disordered structures and how it has spawned applications ranging from new classes of soft robotic systems to loadbearing architectural structures that are adaptable, reconfigurable and fully recyclable.

About the Speaker:

Heinrich Jaeger is the Sewell Avery Distinguished Service Professor of Physics at the University of Chicago. A main theme of his work is the investigation of how materials form and behave under conditions far from equilibrium. Such conditions give rise to a wealth of complex phenomena that push the boundaries of understanding. At the same time, the insights gained can be used to control properties in unique ways and design new kinds of smart materials. He has explored this research theme in experiments spanning superconductors, nanoparticle assemblies, polymers, dense suspensions, and granular materials, often in close collaboration with engineers, artists, and architects. Jaeger is a fellow of the American Physical Society and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Website: https://www.jaegerlab.com

20th TEI Special Panel

TEI @ 20+: contemplations, anticipations, and aspirations

March 11, 2026, 11:10am–12:30pm
20th TEI Special Panel

Abstract:

With the conclusion of this year's conference, ACM TEI is flourishing through and beyond its 20th year. With computational "regular expressions," 20+ includes 20, 200, 2000, and beyond, toward both future visions and past travels. As we contemplate our 20 years' passage, the term "seisatsu"「省察」engages a spirit and practice of deep reflection – active, evaluative, and ethical. Through this and sister lenses, in dialogue with conference attendees, panelists articulate their views on past, present, and future trajectories, and our individual and collective anticipations, values, and aspirations. We will also invite the audience into this dialogue to collectively reflect, shape, and envision the past and evolving future of TEI.

Panelists:

  • Ali Mazalek - Toronto Metropolitan University, Professor & Edwards S. Rogers Sr. Research Chair in Embodied Digital Media [web] — First TEI: 2007
  • Caroline Hummels - Eindhoven University of Technology, Professor, Design and Theory for Transforming Practices [web] — First TEI: 2007
  • Hiroshi Ishii - MIT Media Lab, Jerome B. Wiesner Professor of Media Arts and Sciences / Associate Director of MIT Media Laboratory [web] — First TEI: 2008
  • Fiona Bell - University of Maryland Baltimore County, Assistant Professor of Human-Centered Computing [web] — First TEI: 2021
  • HyunJoo Oh - Georgia Tech, Assistant Professor [web] — First TEI: 2012
  • Paul Strohmeier - Max Planck Institute for Informatics, Senior Researcher [web] — First TEI: 2012

Co-Moderators:

  • Brygg Ullmer - Professor, Clemson University — First TEI: 2007
  • Mike Horn - Professor, Northwestern University — First TEI: 2007