UC Berkeley

As the demand for material goods increases, waste is accumulating on our planet at an alarming rate. Electronics in particular present significant sustainability challenges due to the energy-intensive processes involved in their production and their dependence on nonrenewable resources. Unwanted and broken devices often end up in landfills, where they do not decompose. There has been much progress across disciplines in inventing electronics with biodegradable and compostable parts, but still, sustainability and functionality are largely at odds with one another, and systems to date still rely on standard electronic components that pose recycling and disposal challenges at end of life. Additionally, the pursuit of new sustainable technologies remains a specialized domain out of reach for the non-expert "everyday maker." This not only sidelines the needs and aspirations of already-marginalized communities but also overlooks potential avenues for the development of novel systems. My research, which operates at the intersection of interactive computing, engineering, materials science, and design, envisions the creation of "backyard-degradable interactive electronics'": a class of future sustainable electronics whose entire lifecycle –- from initial material sourcing to the eventual return to the earth –- is a creative process that invites mass participation at every stage. This thesis offers three main contributions. I detail two strategies for making such backyard-degradable interactive electronics: (1) a materials-centric approach for creating backyard-degradable electronic components that can come together to form standalone backyard-degradable electronics, and (2) a systems-level approach whereby a backyard-degradable module can be wirelessly activated and powered by conventional non-degradable energy transmitters that are already ubiquitous. Through the presentation of example systems made with these approaches, I show that backyard-degradability applied as a constraint is a constructive practice, opening up doors for new aesthetics and interactions in new domains. (3) Finally, I present material considerations, fabrication strategies, and a generalizable framework for designing for unmaking, an overlooked but important extension to making that is uplifted by the practice of designing with backyard-degradable materials.