View source for Mark Miodownik

{{Short description|British materials scientist, engineer, broadcaster and writer}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}

{{Infobox scientist
| name = Mark Miodownik
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|MBE|FREng|size=100%}}
| birth_name        = Mark Andrew Miodownik
| image             = Mark_Miodownik_2024.jpg
| image_size        = 
| alt               = 
| caption           = 
| birth_date        = {{Birth date and age|1969|04|25|df=y}}<ref name="whoswho">{{cite web |url=http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U256392 |title='Miodownik, Prof. Mark Andrew', Who's Who 2013, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012; online edn, Nov 2012 }}{{subscription required}}</ref>
| birth_place       = [[London]], England
| death_date        = <!-- {{Death date and age|df=yes|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD}} (death date then birth date) -->
| death_place       = 
| residence         = 
| citizenship       = 
| nationality       = British
| fields            = [[Materials Science]]<br>[[Metallurgy]]
| workplaces        = [[King's College London]]<br>[[University College London]]
| education         = [[Emanuel School]]
| alma_mater        = [[University of Oxford]] (BA, DPhil)<ref name="whoswho"/><!--St Catherine's College, Oxford does NOT award degrees-->
| thesis_title = Fundamentals of grain growth phenomena in ODS alloys
| thesis_url = http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.318817
| thesis_year = 1996
| doctoral_advisor  = 
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| notable_students  = 
| known_for         = [[Broadcasting]]
| author_abbrev_bot = 
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| influences        = 
| influenced        = 
| awards            =[[Hetherington Prize]] (1995)<br> [[Morgan-Botti lecture]] (2013)<br>[[Royal Institution Christmas Lectures]] (2014)<ref name="xmaslectures">{{cite web |url=http://richannel.org/christmas-lectures/2010/2010-mark-miodownik |title=Christmas Lectures 2010 – Size Matters : Ri Channel |access-date=2012-12-17}}</ref><br>[[AAAS Public Engagement with Science Award]] (2015)<br>[[Michael Faraday Prize]] (2017) 
| signature         = <!--(filename only)-->
| signature_alt     = 
| footnotes         = 
| spouse            = 
| website = {{URL|markmiodownik.net}}
}}
'''Mark Andrew Miodownik''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|MBE|FREng}} ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|m|iː|ə|ˈ|d|ɒ|v|n|ɪ|k}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCzLDln5VGM |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/zCzLDln5VGM |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Stuff Matters by Mark Miodownik|date=4 November 2014 |via=YouTube |access-date=17 November 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref>) is a British [[materials scientist]], engineer, broadcaster and writer at [[University College London]]. Previously, he was the head of the Materials Research Group at [[King's College London]], and a co-founder of Materials Library.<ref>{{Cite journal | year = 2005| title = Materials library has the right stuff: Eclectic collection promotes the tactile side of science| last1 = Khamsi | doi = 10.1038/news050328-5 | first1 = R. | journal = Nature}}</ref>

== Education ==
Miodownik attended [[Emanuel School]] in South London. In 1987 he went to [[St Catherine's College, Oxford]] where he graduated with a [[Bachelor of Science]] degree in [[metallurgy]]. He completed his [[Doctor of Philosophy]] degree in turbine [[jet engine]] alloys at [[Linacre College]], Oxford in 1996,<ref name="miodownikphd">{{cite thesis |degree=DPhil |first=Mark Andrew|last=Miodownik |title=Fundamentals of grain growth phenomena in ODS alloys |publisher=University of Oxford |date=1996 |url=http://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/OXVU1:LSCOP_OX:oxfaleph011976795|id={{EThOS|uk.bl.ethos.318817}}|oclc=59596632}}</ref> specifically [[oxide dispersion strengthened alloy|oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) alloy]]s.<ref name="miodownikphd"/> For the presentation of his doctoral work at Oxford, he was awarded the [[Hetherington Prize]] in 1995.

Mark Miodownik says that his interest in materials came from an incident when he was stabbed in the back with a razor blade, on his way to school. Realising that a small piece of steel had done him so much harm started his interest in materials.<ref name=tls>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03xdmz8|title=Mark Miodownik: The Life Scientific|publisher=BBC|first=Jim|last=Al-Khalili|year=2014|access-date=11 March 2014|quote=Mark Miodownik's chronic interest in materials began in rather unhappy circumstances. He was stabbed in the back, with a razor, on his way to school. When he saw the tiny piece of steel that had caused him so much harm, he became obsessed with how it could it be so sharp and so strong. And he's been materials-mad ever since. Working at a nuclear weapons laboratory in the US, he enjoyed huge budgets and the freedom to make the most amazing materials. But he gave that up to work with artists and designers because he believes that if you ignore the sensual aspects of materials, you end up with materials that people don't want. For Mark, making is as important as reading and writing. It's an expression of who we are, like music or literature, and 'everyone should be doing it'. To this end, he wants our public libraries to be converted into public workshops, with laser cutters and 3 D printers in place of books.}}</ref>

==Career and research ==
Miodownik's scientific research is primarily in [[Materials Science]], [[Metallurgy]]<ref name="sensoaesthetic-materials">{{cite web|url=http://www.instituteofmaking.org.uk/research/sensoaesthetic-materials|title=Sensoaesthetic Materials – Research|publisher=Institute of Making}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal
 | last1 = Cohen | first1 = M.
 | last2 = Baum | first2 = B.
 | last3 = Miodownik | first3 = M.
| author-link3 = Mark Miodownik
 | title = The importance of structured noise in the generation of self-organizing tissue patterns through contact-mediated cell-cell signalling
 | doi = 10.1098/rsif.2010.0488
 | journal = Journal of the Royal Society Interface
 | volume = 8
 | pmc = 3104346
 | issue = 59
 | pages = 787–798
 | year = 2010
 | pmid = 21084342
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal
 | last1 = Cohen | first1 = M.
 | last2 = Georgiou | first2 = M.
 | last3 = Stevenson | first3 = N. L.
 | last4 = Miodownik | first4 = M.
| author-link4 = Mark Miodownik
 | last5 = Baum | first5 = B.
 | doi = 10.1016/j.devcel.2010.06.006
 | title = Dynamic Filopodia Transmit Intermittent Delta-Notch Signaling to Drive Pattern Refinement during Lateral Inhibition
 | journal = Developmental Cell
 | volume = 19
 | issue = 1
 | pages = 78–89
 | year = 2010
 | pmid = 20643352
| doi-access = free
 }}</ref> and [[Biomechanics]].<ref>{{Cite journal
 | last1 = Muñoz | first1 = J. J.
 | last2 = Conte | first2 = V.
 | last3 = Miodownik | first3 = M.
| author-link3 = Mark Miodownik
 | title = Stress-dependent morphogenesis: Continuum mechanics and truss systems
 | doi = 10.1007/s10237-009-0187-9
 | journal = Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology
 | volume = 9
 | issue = 4
 | pages = 451–467
 | year = 2010
 | pmid = 20069442
| s2cid = 207064748
 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal
 | last1 = Conte | first1 = V.
 | last2 = Muñoz | first2 = J. J.
 | last3 = Baum | first3 = B.
 | last4 = Miodownik | first4 = M.
|author-link4 = Mark Miodownik
 | title = Robust mechanisms of ventral furrow invagination require the combination of cellular shape changes
 | doi = 10.1088/1478-3975/6/1/016010
 | journal = Physical Biology
 | volume = 6
 | issue = 1
 | pages = 016010
 | year = 2009
 | pmid = 19342769
| bibcode = 2009PhBio...6a6010C| hdl = 2117/8195
 | hdl-access = free
 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal
 | last1 = Conte | first1 = V.
 | last2 = Munoz | first2 = J.
 | last3 = Miodownik | first3 = M.
|author-link3 = Mark Miodownik
 | title = A 3D finite element model of ventral furrow invagination in the Drosophila melanogaster embryo
 | doi = 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2007.10.002
 | journal = Journal of the Mechanical Behavior of Biomedical Materials
 | volume = 1
 | issue = 2
 | pages = 188–198
 | year = 2008
 | pmid = 19627783
| hdl = 2117/8161
 | hdl-access = free
 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal
 | last1 = Basanta | first1 = D.
 | last2 = Miodownik | first2 = M.
| author-link2 = Mark Miodownik
 | last3 = Baum | first3 = B.
 | editor1-last = Hunter
 | editor1-first = Peter
 | title = The Evolution of Robust Development and Homeostasis in Artificial Organisms
 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000030
 | journal = PLOS Computational Biology
 | volume = 4
 | issue = 3
 | pages = e1000030
 | pmc = 2274883
 | year = 2008
 | pmid = 18369424
| bibcode = 2008PLSCB...4E0030B
 | doi-access = free
 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal
 | last1 = Munoz | first1 = J.
 | last2 = Barrett | first2 = K.
 | last3 = Miodownik | first3 = M.
| author-link3 = Mark Miodownik
 | title = A deformation gradient decomposition method for the analysis of the mechanics of morphogenesis
 | doi = 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2006.05.006
 | journal = Journal of Biomechanics
 | volume = 40
 | issue = 6
 | pages = 1372–1380
 | year = 2007
 | pmid = 16814298
| hdl = 2117/8542
 | hdl-access = free
 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal
 | last1 = Miodownik | first1 = M.
| author-link1 = Mark Miodownik
 | doi = 10.1038/nmat1416
 | title = Facts not opinions?
 | journal = Nature Materials
 | volume = 4
 | issue = 7
 | pages = 506–508
 | year = 2005
 | pmid = 16003393
|bibcode = 2005NatMa...4..506M | s2cid = 32180278
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Wongsriruksa | first1 = S. | last2 = Howes | first2 = P. | last3 = Conreen | first3 = M. | last4 = Miodownik | first4 = M. | author-link4 = Mark Miodownik| title = The use of physical property data to predict the touch perception of materials | doi = 10.1016/j.matdes.2012.05.054 | journal = Materials & Design | volume = 42 | pages = 238–244 | year = 2012 }}</ref>
He has also been key to the development of the concept of [[sensoaesthetics]], which is the "application of scientific methodology to the aesthetic, sensual and emotional side" of materials.<ref name="sensoaesthetic-materials"/>

=== Broadcasting ===
In 2001 Miodownik gave a series of talks at the [[Institute of Contemporary Arts]] (ICA) on aesthetics in the arts and sciences.<ref name=people>[http://www.materialslibrary.org.uk/MaterialsLibrary/people.htm People]. Materials Library. Retrieved 26 October 2010. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100211144041/http://www.materialslibrary.org.uk/MaterialsLibrary/people.htm Archived] by [[WebCitation]] on 26 October 2010.</ref> In 2003 he co-founded the Materials Library, a website for people working in materials science, with a grant from [[NESTA]].<ref>[http://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/nms/diveng/research/materials/mam/bio.html Dr Mark Miodownik – Biography]. [[King's College London]]. Retrieved 26 October 2010. [https://web.archive.org/web/20101008234045/http://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/nms/diveng/research/materials/mam/bio.html Archived] by [[WebCitation]] on 26 October 2010.</ref> In 2005 he organised two talks at [[Tate Modern]] on the influence of new materials on the arts.<ref name=AFP>[http://www.artfundprize.org.uk/2008/judging-panel.php "Judging panel 2008"]. [[Art Fund Prize]]. Retrieved 26 October 2010. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120308164358/http://www.artfundprize.org.uk/2008/judging-panel.php Archived] by [[WebCitation]] on 26 October 2010.</ref> In 2006 he and two other scientists produced AfterImage, an installation that explores light and colour perception, which was exhibited at the [[Hayward Gallery]].<ref>[http://www.mlythgoe.com/19Afterimage.htm "AfterImage at the Hayward Gallery"]. mlythgoe.com. Retrieved 26 October 2010. [https://web.archive.org/web/20110714103822/http://www.mlythgoe.com/19Afterimage.htm Archived] by [[WebCitation]] on 26 October 2010.</ref> In 2007 the Materials Library made a podcast, "What can the matter be?", hosted by the Tate.<ref>[http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120203094030/http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/tours/materialslibrary/ What can the matter be?]. [[Tate Modern]]. Retrieved 26 October 2010. [[Tate Modern]]. Retrieved 26 October 2010.</ref> He was interviewed by [[Jim Al-Khalili]] for ''[[The Life Scientific]]'' first broadcast on [[BBC Radio 4]] in March 2014.<ref name=tls/>

He was one of the judges of the 2008 [[Art Fund Prize]].<ref name=AFP/> He often gives talks at the [[Cheltenham Science Festival]], of which he is a member of the advisory group. In 2010 he placed 89 in a ''[[The Times|Times]]'' list of the 100 most influential people in science<ref>http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/science/eureka/?CMP=KNGvccp1-times%20eureka%20100 {{subscription required}}. ''[[The Times]]''.</ref> and delivered that year's [[Royal Institution Christmas Lectures]]. The three-part series, ''Size Matters'',<ref name="xmaslectures"/> looked at how size influences everything, including the shape of the universe, and aired on [[BBC Four]] in late December.<ref>[http://www.thomasyoungcentre.org/media/335/dr-mark-miodownik-takes-on-the-royal-institution-christmas-lectures/ "Dr Mark Miodownik, takes on the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures"]. [[Thomas Young Centre]]. 13 August 2010. Retrieved 26 October 2010. [http://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/news_details.php?news_id=1428&year=2010 "Materials scientist to give RI Lecture"]. [[King's College London]]. Retrieved 26 October 2010.</ref>

Miodownik has done work with the [[Tate Modern]], the [[Hayward Gallery]], and the [[Wellcome Collection]]. He has close ties to the [[Royal Institution of Great Britain]] and presented a Friday Evening Discourse in February 2013 entitled "Strange Material".<ref>[http://richannel.org/strange-material Strange Material]. [[Royal Institution of Great Britain]]. Retrieved 5 March 2013.</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEWFJiMK6CE Strange Materials with Mark Miodownik]. [https://www.youtube.com/user/TheRoyalInstitution Royal Institution of Great Britain]. [[YouTube]] Retrieved 29 June 2014.</ref> His television appearances include Wonderstuff on [[BBC Two]] in August 2011,<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b012ymht "Wonderstuff"]. [[BBC website]]. Retrieved 5 March 2013.</ref> The ''How it Works'' series on [[BBC Four]] in 2012<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01fm490 "How it Works"]. [[BBC website]]. Retrieved 5 March 2013.</ref> and ''[[The Genius of Invention]]'' on [[BBC Two]] in early 2013.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01qb0p5 "The Genius of Invention"]. [[BBC website]]. Retrieved 5 March 2013.</ref> He also appeared as a regular guest on [[Dara Ó Briain's Science Club]] on [[BBC Two]] in late 2012.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00zxmqd   "Dara O Briain’s Science Club"]. [[BBC website]]. Retrieved 5 March 2013.</ref>

=== Awards & honours ===
Miodownik was elected a [[FREng|Fellow]] of the [[Royal Academy of Engineering]] in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.raeng.org.uk/news/news-releases/2014/september/stars-of-industry-and-academia-elected-to-the-roya|title=Stars of industry and academia elected to the Royal Academy of Engineering|access-date=5 March 2019}}</ref> His book [[Stuff Matters|''Stuff Matters: The Strange Stories of the Marvellous Materials that Shape Our Man-made World'']] won the 2014 [[Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books]],<ref name="SciAward">{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29987159 | title=Materials book wins Royal Society Winton Prize | publisher=BBC | date=10 November 2014 | access-date=11 November 2014 | author=Melissa Hogenboom}}</ref> and a [[National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine]] Communication Award in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=09092015A|title=Academies Announce Winners of 2015 Communication Awards|website=www8.nationalacademies.org|language=en|access-date=2020-02-20}}</ref> He was awarded the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]] Prize for Public Engagement with Science the same year.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://mecheng.ucl.ac.uk/news/mark-miodownik-receives-aaas-public-engagement-science-award/ |title=Mark Miodownik receives AAAS Public Engagement with Science Award |website=UCL Mechanical Engineering |date=15 February 2016 |access-date=20 February 2020}}</ref>

In 2017, Miodownik was awarded the [[Michael Faraday Prize]] and Lecture by the [[Royal Society]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mecheng.ucl.ac.uk/news/miodownik-wins-royal-society-faraday-prize-lecture/|title=Miodownik wins Royal Society Faraday Prize and Lecture - UCL Mechanical Engineering|date=14 March 2023 }}</ref> and in the [[2018 New Year Honours]] he was awarded an [[Order of the British Empire|MBE]] for "services to Science, Engineering and Broadcasting".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/671148/NY18_Queens_List_-_Final_.pdf |title=Honours list|website=gov.uk}}f</ref>

== Publications ==
* [[Stuff Matters|''Stuff Matters: The Strange Stories of the Marvellous Materials that Shape Our Man-made World'']] (2014), {{ISBN|978-0241955185}}
* ''Liquid Rules: The Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our Lives Paperback'' (2020), {{ISBN|978-0358108450}}
* ''It's a Gas: The Sublime and Elusive Elements That Expand Our World'' (2023), {{ISBN|978-0358157151}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Prophet, Jane. [http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=196494&sectioncode=26 "Muse of the lab shapes edgy art (2)"]. ''[[Times Higher Education]]''. 3 June 2005. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
* Dyckhoff, Tom. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080704160542/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/architecture_and_design/article590462.ece "It's the stuff of dreams"]. ''[[The Times]]''. 16 November 2005. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
* MacLeod, Donald. [https://www.theguardian.com/education/2006/jun/27/universityteaching.highereducation "Building bridges"]. ''[[The Guardian]]''. 27 June 2006. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
* Mark Miodownik writing in ''The Guardian''. [https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/jan/05/healthandwellbeing.features2 "Are you happy?"]. ''[[The Guardian]]''. 5 January 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
* Mark Miodownik writing in BBC News. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7328970.stm "So who needs scientists?"]. [[BBC News]]. 4 April 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
* The entire "How it Works" series was released on DVD in 2015 under the title "The Secret Life of Materials".

== External links ==
* [http://www.markmiodownik.net/ Personal website]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20101216040138/http://www.markmiodownik.net/Site/Index-Page.html Archived] by [[WebCitation]] on 26 October 2010.
* [http://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/nms/diveng/research/materials/mam/ Webpage at King's College London]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20101020042636/https://www.kcl.ac.uk/schools/nms/diveng/research/materials/mam/ Archived] by [[WebCitation]] on 26 October 2010.
* [https://archive.today/20121223085238/http://www.mecheng.ucl.ac.uk/staff/?staff_id=mm Webpage at University College London]
* [http://www.instituteofmaking.org.uk/ Institute of Making]
* [http://www.intelligencesquared.com/people/m/mark-miodownik Profile at Intelligence<math>^2</math>]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100829223003/http://www.intelligencesquared.com/people/m/mark-miodownik Archived] by [[WebCitation]] on 26 October 2010.
* [https://www.rigb.org/christmas-lectures/watch/2010/size-matters/elephants-cant-dance-but-hamsters-can-skydive Size Matters], [[Royal Institution]] 2010 [[Christmas Lectures]], presented by Mark Miodownik
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEWFJiMK6CE Strange Materials with Mark Miodownik], Filmed event at [[Royal Institution]], February 2013
* {{cite web|title='Stuff Matters': An EPS Christmas Lecture with Prof Mark Miodownik|date=16 December 2015|publisher=University of Birmingham|via=YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyAMo2QLTR0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/FyAMo2QLTR0 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}
* {{cite web|title=Stuff Matters|date=18 June 2018|publisher=MIT Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE)|via=YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxyY1lyC4gM |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/wxyY1lyC4gM |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}
* {{Twitter}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miodownik, Mark Andrew}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:English metallurgists]]
[[Category:British materials scientists]]
[[Category:Academics of King's College London]]
[[Category:Academics of University College London]]
[[Category:Alumni of St Catherine's College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering]]
[[Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:People educated at Emanuel School]]
[[Category:1969 births]]
[[Category:Engineers from London]]