ZOE MIYAKO LEE
zoemiyako@gmail.comare.nainstagram
Zoe Lee is a designer, entreprenuer, researcher, and filmmaker based in the United States. After receiving a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), she co-founded BEAM, a research-led creative studio and public imagination engine for people & planet.
She is also a Research Affiliate at the MIT Media Lab’s Community Biotechnology Initiative and a member of NEW INC, the New Museum’s design, culture, and tech incubator, in the Year 12 Creative Science cohort.
Her work focuses on how climate technologies and interventions operate once they move into real places—shaped by ecological conditions, governance, culture, and lived relationships to land and water. Her practice blends research, design, and storytelling to make complex socio-ecological systems legible and negotiable.
Her work has been published and presented internationally, and has appeared in Vox, MIT Technology Review, ArtNews, The Today Show, O! Magazine, Stereo Saints, and Barley Field Magazine.
CV
AWN-BOT
Awn-Bot
Reserach Assistant
Team: Reece Whatmore, Emilia Keely, Zoe Lee, Adrianne Minori, Dr. Lining Yao
Institution: Morphing Matter Lab; prev. Carnegie Mellon University, currently UC Berkley
Funders: National Science Foundation REU, RISD SPUR Fund
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DESCRIPTION
AwnBot (Morphing Matter Lab, Carnegie Mellon University) is a biodegradable, self-actuating robotic system inspired by the mechanics of plant awns. Developed within the Morphing Matter Lab’s research on self-actuating materials, the project explores how material geometry and environmental responsiveness can enable autonomous motion without electronics or motors.
Designed for soil interaction and ecological deployment, AwnBot investigates how sustainable robotic systems can support low-impact environmental applications, including restoration and reforestation. The work contributes to broader research on biodegradable robotics and demonstrates how material-driven design can reduce technological footprint while increasing ecological compatibility.