Research Talk: Sensing Bread: Food, Neuroscience, and Design Research

Abstract

This performative lecture explores the intersection of food, neuroscience, and design research. The session introduces Neuro-Cooking, a research project investigating the therapeutic and cognitive dimensions of food preparation using EEG-based wearable technology and vibro-tactile feedback. The talk will be accompanied by live sonification of microbial fermentation processes and will conclude with a guided multisensory sourdough tasting developed in collaboration with psychologists from the University of Oxford.

Drawing on more than a decade of interdisciplinary practice spanning architecture, product design, speculative design, microbiology, and experimental psychology, Maciej Chmara explores how a simple cultural technique like bread-making can become a site for scientific inquiry, therapeutic innovation, and philosophical reflection. The talk moves between neuroscience, embodiment, and the aesthetic practice of cooking, while celebrating the stubborn beauty of a good crust.

Bio

Maciej Chmara is a designer, researcher, and co-founder of the conceptual design studio Chmara.Rosinke in Vienna (ch-ro.com). He is a member of Die Junge Akademie at the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, where he leads the working group AG Miam Miam on culinary culture and science. His current research explores the intersections of cooking as a cultural technique, embodied cognition, mental health, and the microbiome — combining speculative design, open-source neuroscience tools, and fermentation science. He has taught at universities including UdK Berlin, and represented Austria at the 2023 London Design Biennale.