Rate My Professor Michael Dickinson

Dickinson's research specializations encompass the relationship between designer, user, and object; the use of 'story' as an alternative mechanism for reflection on the silent language of objects; biomimetic design; and organic photovoltaic technologies. Key publications include 'Development of a Biomimetic Robotic Bear: Or is a Bare Bear Bearable?' (2009, co-authored with Peter Turner), which explores bringing bear-like biomimetic features to robotics; 'An Ink-Composition Engineering Approach for Upscaling of Organic Solar Cells with High-Efficiency Retention Factor' (2020); 'The Role of Surface Energy Control in Organic Photovoltaics' (2019); conference contributions such as 'The ‘Story’ as an Alternative Mechanism for Revealing the Silent Language of Objects', 'HyKim: Development of a Robot Bear Bringing the Strength and Robustness of a Bear’s Biomimetic Features to a Robot', 'Design: A Harnessing of Unintelligible Causes', and 'A Re-assessment of Design Thinking through the Experience of Jury Duty in a Murder Trial'. His practical impact is evident in Printed Solar technology developed at the Centre for Organic Electronics, deployed to power Coldplay concerts in 2024—where he addressed challenges in mounting solar cells to stadium seats using mesh fixings for optimal solar exposure—and supporting the epic solar Tesla challenge. Dickinson described witnessing Printed Solar at a Coldplay concert as a 'once-in-a-lifetime' experience and the most amazing achievement of his career.