About MaP+S

The Material Processes and Systems (MaP+S) Group, founded by Professor Martin Bechthold, is a research unit that takes materials as a starting point for a broad set of investigations that involve computation, robotics, material science and environmental psychology. MaP+S research advances the aesthetic and functional agenda of materials in the built environment, with a current focus on biomaterials and material perception. The group evolved from the Design Robotics Group, also at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, which was established in 2010. Renamed MaP+S in 2014, we have since initiated the Adaptive Living Environments (ALivE) project jointly with Harvard’s REAL group and Prof. Allen Sayegh. ALivE closed down in 2020. Our current research partners include the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering as well as the labs of Professors Aizenberg, Bertoldi, and Lewis, all from the Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Science at Harvard, as well as The Daraio Research Group at CalTech.

The MaP+S Group currently works on funded research and other projects, and supports thesis research on the masters and the doctoral level. Our work is supported by industry partners and associations, non-profits and foundations. We are closely affiliated with the GSD’s Laboratory for Design Technology, a platform for industry-academy interaction and collaboration.