Skylar Tibbits is a trained Architect, Designer and Computer Scientist whose research currently focuses on developing self-assembly technologies for large-scale structures in our physical environment.

Skylar works on self-assembly -- the idea that instead of building something (a chair, a skyscraper), we can create materials that build themselves, much the way a strand of DNA zips itself together. It's a big concept at early stages; Tibbits shows us three in-the-lab projects that hint at what a self-assembling future might look like. See his TED Talk here.

Here’s an interesting article about the self-assembly of mesoscopic and macroscopic components.

Related is this TEDEd talk by Bonnie Bassler about how bacteria talk to each other in order to coordinate defense and mount attacks. 

While self-assembly is more commonly discussed in the context of biology, chemistry, and materials science, applying the concept to social movements is an interesting perspective that may be less extensively covered. Check out the article “Digital organizing of a global social movement: from connective to collective action” published by Science Direct, which explores the role of self-organization and communication technologies in contemporary social movements. 

This scholarly article “The Self-Organization of Social Movements” asserts that social movements are not caused externally, but are self-organizing systems.

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