Ecocentric Future Lab

At the Ecocentric Future Lab located at UT Austin, under the direction of Assistant Professor Jiabao Li, we are dedicated to fostering a radical shift in our understanding of the world and our place in it. Moving beyond human-centric and profit-driven approaches, our lab explores a multi-species, eco-centric worldview that encourages collaboration and empathy with non-human intelligences. 

Students in our lab engage in a wide array of endeavors, such as collaborating with various species like spiders, cats, dogs, and grackles, developing animal-computer interaction frameworks, innovating biomaterials, repurposing e-waste and plastics, enhancing the lives of captive animals in Costa Rica through enrichment design, exploring the possibilities of heterogeneous design using voxel-based, multi-material 3D printing inspired by the multifaceted beauty of nature, and harnessing AI’s potential in the field of animal behavior and communication research. By forging connections, sharing umwelt, and embodying non-human species’ perspectives, we aim to create a more inclusive, interconnected, and intelligent future that respects and celebrates the full spectrum of life on our planet.