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
SELECTED WORK
TIDELANDS 2100
Co-Director, Game & Film
TIDELANDS is a game and film project developed with the URI DWELL Lab, focused on speculative coastal futures and climate adaptation. Through interactive storytelling and cinematic narrative, the project explores how communities might live, organize, and respond to rising seas.
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EATING THE WHOLE FISH
Creative Direction & Writing, Publication
Eating the Whole Fish is a 200-page illustrated book, produced with Eating with the Ecosystem, exploring sustainable seafood, local fisheries, and underutilized species through recipes and visual storytelling.
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SCUP AQUACULTURE
Co-Founder, Reserach Start-up
SCUP Aquaculture is a collaborative venture developing shared-use offshore wind and aquaculture models that allow fishers to farm shellfish on renewable energy infrastructure, addressing social license challenges in ocean energy development.
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GROWING COMMUNITY POWER
Researcher, MIT Media Lab
Growing Community Power is an open-access toolkit from the MIT Media Lab’s Community Biotechnology Initiative that integrates trust-building, stakeholder mapping, and governance into conservation practice.
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BEACONS
Collaborator, DEMO Festival
Swarm is a next-generation insect repellent brand positioned as modern consumer packaged goods. After raising $250K in pre-seed funding, the project’s creative direction spans brand, product experience, and narrative.
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AWN-BOT
Reseracher, Morphing Matter Lab
AwnBot is a biodegradable robotic system developed at Carnegie Mellon’s Morphing Matter Lab, using self-actuating materials to achieve autonomous motion without electronics or motors.
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SWARM
Creative Director, CPG Start-Up
Swarm is a next-generation insect repellent brand positioned as modern consumer packaged goods. After raising $250K in pre-seed funding, the project’s creative direction spans brand, product experience, and narrative.
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ATTENTIV-U
Reseracher, MIT Media Lab: Fluid Interfaces
AttentivU (MIT Media Lab) is a neural AI research platform focused on measuring and supporting human attention in high-stakes environments. The project integrates brain–computer interface research with human-centered design, advancing ergonomics, user testing, and interface development toward deployment on the International Space Station.
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MAPPING RESILIENT PROVIDENCE
Tool Building & Design, Providence Resilience Project
In collaboration with the Providence Resilience Project, I developed participatory tools to collect community-generated climate resilience data and translate it into guidance for engineers and local government.
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INDIGO CLOTHING CO.
Co-Founder, Apparel Company
Indigo was a fashion venture translating natural dyeing into contemporary streetwear, reaching a mass audience with six-figures in sales and features in Vox, The Oprah Show, and The Today Show.
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