In a world increasingly shaped by both ecological uncertainty and technological transformation, polymathy has become a vital mode of inquiry for navigating our complex future. This keynote series invites audiences to transcend disciplinary boundaries, reimagine human and non-human collaboration, and embrace the emergent possibilities of co-creating knowledge with intelligences both biological and synthetic. It offers a provocative vision for a post-anthropocentric science, where nature is not simply a resource but a partner in innovation.

Across this suite of talks, Dr. Melissa Sterry interrogates how polymathic thinking - expanded to include the perspectives of microbes, machines, ecosystems, and algorithms - can reshape our approach to knowledge creation, sustainability, and design. From biologically-informed urban systems and fire-resilient architectures to multispecies cognition and post-normal science, these keynotes provide a roadmap for cultivating responsive, ethical, and symbiotic futures. For researchers, innovators, and visionary thinkers alike, this is an invitation to explore not just what we can know, but how we can know - together with the more-than-human world.

Beyond the Human Mind: Polymathy in an Age of Ecological and Artificial Intelligence

Reimagining Knowledge Integration Through Living and Non-Living Systems

This keynote explores a future where polymathic thinking integrates not only across disciplines but across species and systems—biological, technological, and ecological. Drawing on decades of biofuturism research, it will illustrate how emergent intelligences - ranging from AI and machine learning to plant cognition and microbial networks - can radically expand the epistemological tools available to researchers. By examining living systems as co-researchers, not just subjects, we explore new methods of inquiry and imagination. What does it really mean to design with, rather than for, the non-human? And how can this shift open radical new frontiers in resilient design, sustainable innovation, and knowledge generation? A deep dive for enquiring minds eager to go beyond mainstream interpretations of ‘Nature’ and our relationship with it.

Symbiotic Intelligence: Co-Creating Knowledge with Nature and Machines

Polymathy at the Edge of Ecology, AI, and Bioengineering

In a world shaped by climate crises and technological acceleration, this talk interrogates how polymaths can forge new epistemologies by engaging ecological and artificial intelligences as collaborators. From mycelial networks to generative AI, new forms of intelligence are challenging the silos of human cognition. This keynote explores how design science, bioinformatics, and systems theory provide frameworks for meaningful integration of these intelligences in research and practice. With case studies from wildfire-resilient architecture, biourbanism, and biofabrication, Dr. Melissa Sterry proposes strategies to co-create futures that are not only smart but symbiotic in tangible, potent, and profound ways.

Transdisciplinary Terra: Rethinking Discovery with the More-Than-Human

Expanding Polymathic Inquiry through Planetary Intelligence

What happens when we decentralise the human in transdisciplinary research? This keynote addresses how future polymaths must engage with "planetary intelligence" - the composite cognition of biospheric systems, sensor networks, and evolving AI - to tackle 21st-century grand challenges. By fusing ecological systems thinking, design fiction, and speculative science, we envision how knowledge production can shift from anthropocentric models toward distributed, post-human, and eco-centric paradigms. Drawing on examples from her work in projects such as Bionic City®, Panarchic Codex®, and Labioratorium®, Dr. Melissa Sterry presents frameworks for developing responsive, adaptive knowledge ecosystems fit for uncertain futures.

Living Algorithms: Biological Systems as Research Partners

Polymathy in the Era of Synthetic and Organic Intelligence

Moving beyond the metaphor of nature as model, this talk explores the concept of nature as algorithm - living systems not merely to be mimicked, but to be engaged as intelligent actors. How can polymaths evolve new forms of design, experimentation, and computation when living organisms and biological processes are integrated into research methods? Through examples including her fire-adaptive architectures and biologically-informed urban systems, Dr. Melissa Sterry shows how combining wetware, hardware, and software may lead to radical redefinitions of discovery, creativity, and problem-solving.

Codex of the Future: Designing Polymathic Knowledge Ecologies

From Data Silos to Dynamic, Living Knowledge Systems

Drawing from the creation of the Panarchic Codex® and her expansive expertise in designing for ecological resilience, Dr. Melissa Sterry presents strategies for architecting research systems that synthesise ecological feedback, AI-driven insight, and embodied field experience. By redefining what a ‘research artefact’ is, and who or what can produce it, she explores how polymathic futures can foster dynamic knowledge architectures that sense, adapt, and regenerate in tandem with the world they seek to understand.

Ecosophic Futures: Polymathy Beyond the Human Sensorium

Sensing, Thinking, and Designing Across Species and Systems

How can we perceive the world as a bat, a bacterium, or a bot might? This keynote investigates how the polymathic mind can expand its sensory and cognitive range by integrating insights from biosemiotics, AI perception systems, and multispecies ethnography. It makes the case for ecosophic design - where ethical, ecological, and epistemological considerations intersect to guide research and innovation. Through her work in ecological design thinking, biodesign, and biofuturism, Dr. Melissa Sterry proposes new methods for designing systems that are not only sustainable but sentient in a diversity of compelling ways.

Polymathic Constellations: Mapping Futures with Intelligence Beyond Boundaries

From Speculative Design to Synthetic Biology in Complex Futures

In this speculative keynote, Dr. Melissa Sterry proposes the “constellation model” of polymathy, where diverse intelligences (AI, ecological, synthetic, and human) form evolving networks of knowledge. This model helps navigate the complexity of the Anthropocene and post-Anthropocene through nonlinear thinking, adaptive methodologies, and emergent aesthetics. Featuring work from Labioratorium®, Bioratorium®, and allied R&D programmes, this talk showcases how polymathic futures are being prototyped in real-world applications, spanning synthetic biology, post-normal science, regenerative materials, and responsive environments. The future is already co-creating with us; the question is, are we listening?

Ready to spark transformative thinking in your organisation or event?

Dr Melissa Sterry’s keynote series is designed to inspire leaders, researchers, and change-makers working at the frontiers of science, design, and innovation. Each talk offers bespoke insights informed by decades of cross-sector expertise and cutting-edge research. Whether you seek to deepen your engagement with ecological intelligence, understand the role of AI in sustainable futures, or explore new frameworks for interdisciplinary collaboration, Dr Sterry offers compelling, visionary content tailored to your audience.

To explore bookings, bespoke sessions, or collaborative opportunities, drop us a line…