Catarina Mota

TEDGlobal Fellow Catarina Mota is a maker and open-source advocate and the founder and executive director of Open Building Institute an open source collaborative that focuses on developing low-cost and rapidly-built structures that are modular, ecological, and energy efficient.

Mota also co-founded Open Materials (do-it-yourself smart materials), Everywhere Tech (open source technology transfer), and AltLab (Lisbon's hackerspace).

She encourages the making of things using smart materials: ink that conducts electricity; a window that turns from clear to opaque at the flip of a switch; a jelly that makes music.

Mota teaches hands-on workshops on high-tech materials and simple circuitry with the goal of encouraging people with little to no science background to take a proactive interest in science, technology, and knowledge-sharing.

Previously, she co-chaired the Open Hardware Summit 2012, served on the board of directors of the Open Source Hardware Association, taught as an adjunct faculty member at ITP-NYU, and was a fellow of the National Science and Technology Foundation of Portugal.

Mota holds a Ph.D. in communication sciences and her research work focuses on the social impact of open and collaborative practices for the development of technologies. She is a founding member the Open Source Hardware Association and a TED fellow.