In this inspiring episode of The Enterprise Sessions, Professor Michele Barbour sits down with Dr. Camilla Morelli, a senior lecturer in social anthropology at the University of Bristol, whose groundbreaking work with indigenous youth in the Amazon rainforest has taken an unexpected and powerful turn toward enterprise.

What begins as immersive ethnographic research with the Matses people of Peru evolves into a creative collaboration that empowers young people to tell their own stories through animation. Camilla shares how her passion for understanding childhood in rainforest communities led to co-produced films that are now shaping policy, influencing global youth agencies, and opening doors to commercial opportunities.

🎬 Highlights include:

• Camilla’s journey from Rome to Bristol via the Amazon
• The surprising disconnect between rainforest children and their environment
• How digital storytelling became a tool for empowerment and impact
• The challenges and triumphs of entering the creative industries as an academic
• Reflections on gender, entrepreneurship, and finding your voice in unfamiliar spaces

✨ Whether you're curious about anthropology, creative enterprise, or the power of storytelling, this episode is a must-watch.

🌐 About the Enterprise Sessions

The Enterprise Sessions bring together a diverse mix of company founders and researchers who talk openly about their personal experiences of forming spin-outs and start-ups, raising capital, academic-industry partnerships and the joys of translating research discoveries into real-world impact. The series aims to inform, inspire and challenge myths and stereotypes about research commercialisation and how businesses and universities can work together to tackle society's biggest challenges.

👍 Like, Share, Subscribe, Explore

If you found this episode inspiring or informative, please don’t forget to like and share. Visit our website or subscribe to the University of Bristol’s YouTube channel for more Enterprise Sessions.

https://www.bristol.ac.uk/enterprise-sessions

🔔 Subscribe for more conversations with researchers turning ideas into impact.

Artificial intelligence often struggles with the ambiguity, nuance, and shifting context that defines human reasoning. Fuzzy logic offers an alternative, by modelling meaning in degrees rather than absolutes.

In this roundtable episode, ResearchPod speaks with Professors Edy Portmann, Irina Perfilieva, Vilem Novak, Cristina Puente, and José María Alonso about how fuzzy systems capture perception, language, social cues, and uncertainty.

Their insights contribute to the upcoming FMsquare Foundation booklet on fuzzy logic, exploring the role of uncertainty-aware reasoning in the future of AI.

You can read the previous booklet from this series here: Fuzzy Design-Science Research

You can listen to previous fuzzy podcasts here: fmsquare.org

Join Professor Michelle Barbour in this captivating conversation with Professor Marc Holderied from the University of Bristol’s School of Biological Sciences. Discover how a serendipitous encounter with a fluffy moth in Costa Rica sparked a 30-year scientific journey that led to the development of ultra-thin, nature-inspired sound-absorbing materials.

🎙️ In this episode follow Marc’s path to Bristol and his passion for acoustics including:

• Fascinating collaborations with Bristol Zoo, including the discovery of a new frog species and a mysterious bat call
• The groundbreaking invention of an acoustic tomograph
• How moth wings inspired the creation of acoustic metamaterials
• Finding real-world applications from the study of moth wings from noise-reducing wallpaper to quieter aircraft cabins
• A dream to reduce the hidden health costs of urban noise pollution

Read his original research article : https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2313549121

⭐Highlights

0:00 – Introducing the Enterprise Sessions and Professor Marc Holderied

0:34 – Marc’s journey to Bristol

2:22 – Discovering new species of frogs and bats with Bristol Zoo

4:41 – How shaving a moth’s wings led to an enterprise opportunity

7:49 – How moths evolved an acoustic invisibility cloak to evade bats

13:01 – From research to enterprise: developing acoustic wallpaper and ultra-thin sound absorbers

16:46 – The societal impacts of noise pollution

21:48 – The role Enterprise Fellowships and the University of Bristol’s Commercialisation team and others in going from research to enterprise

🌐 About the Enterprise Sessions

The Enterprise Sessions bring together a diverse mix of company founders and researchers who talk openly about their personal experiences of forming spin-outs and start-ups, raising capital, academic-industry partnerships and the joys of translating research discoveries into real-world impact.

The series aims to inform, inspire and challenge myths and stereotypes about research commercialisation and how businesses and universities can work together to tackle society’s biggest challenges.

👍 Like, Share, Subscribe, Explore

If you found this episode inspiring or informative, please don’t forget to like and share. Visit our website or subscribe to the University of Bristol’s YouTube channel for more Enterprise Sessions.

https://www.bristol.ac.uk/enterprise-sessions

🔗 Connect with

Marc Holderied https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-holderied/

Michele Barbour https://www.linkedin.com/in/michele-barbour-7b049566/