Touching base with: Samuel Iliffe
‘I’ve accidentally been preparing for this my whole life’: Meet Samuel, TG0’s Head of Research and Development
Hi Samuel! Where are you from?
I’m originally from Cambridge but now live in Brighton with my partner and two children. I love living here – I like being by the sea, and I can see the Royal Pavilion, which was once George IV’s seaside retreat, from my bedroom window. It’s an incredible building, which is very inspiring. I joined TG0 on 15 April and my second child was born on 25th May so it’s been quite the whirlwind!
Where did you study?
I did my undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering at Queen Mary University of London, followed by a joint Master’s degree in Innovation Design Engineering, which was taught across the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London. Incidentally I heard about that Master’s while doing a three-month internship at Sugru, a startup which pioneered the concept of mouldable glue. I really liked the sound of the course because it combines two different types of thinking – technical engineering and creativity.
That sounds like an interesting combination. Do you consider yourself artistic?
I’ve always been creative. I worked as a DJ all the way through university and produced music as well. I really like UK techno and bass music and create my own stuff using Ableton, a digital audio workstation. I don’t have too much time to make music now but what’s quite nice is some of our clients specialise in audio equipment, so I feel like I’ve got an affinity with them.
How did your career develop after university?
I’ve always been a bit of a generalist engineer and researcher, and have developed lots of different skill sets along the way. While at Queen Mary’s, I did a year in industry and worked in a research laboratory that made graphene ink, helping one of the researchers develop a way to make it more conductive. After my Master’s in design engineering, I was working with a design studio investigating the use of algae and biomaterials. At Sugru, I was working with the research and development team to find new uses for its mouldable glue, researching its specific material properties, and comparing it with other adhesives. It was a nice introduction to thinking outside of the box to come up with new use cases, which is what we do at TG0 all the time.
How did you first hear about TG0?
Ming Kong, the co-founder of TG0, and I did the same Master’s degree course,
although he did it several years before me. TG0 was one of the success stories of this dual creative/engineering approach held up by our tutors. It’s renowned for being a tough course but is designed to train engineers and designers who can engage that lateral thinking. For a company like TG0, where the technology has so many potential applications, you need to have the technical understanding alongside a creative instinct for what could come next. I’ve accidentally been preparing for a role like this my whole life.
What do you like about working at TG0?
I like the subject matter, the challenge and the learning experience. I really like the
technical mission of figuring out how to make something work and how to improve it. There’s great energy within the team, and we’re securing new deals all the time, which is very motivating. I like working with clients to understand their needs, digging deep to balance the commercial side of a project with its potential for technical innovation. I’m also used to being in situations where I don’t know everything and like leveraging that uncertainty to explore new possibilities. I’m sure I’ve already annoyed some of our engineers with my questions about whether we can explore a new idea to advance a project.
What projects are you working on now?
I can’t go into too much detail but I’m currently working with the team on a pressure-mapping insole project, which has been fascinating.
What type of products are you most passionate about?
I’m passionate about creating useful products that bring new experiences to people – even if that’s just making their lives a bit easier. I’m also passionate about the environment. A few weeks ago, I finally parted with a pair of Sennheiser headphones that I’d had for 12 years. I used them for every song I’ve made, every gig I’ve played at, every radio show I’ve done. They were built to last, which may not make the most sense from a business perspective, but I love how robust they were and had a real emotional attachment to them.
Is that the future of product design?
I hope so! I definitely believe there’s going to be a proliferation of sensing technology. The upsurge of smartphones has made a lot of sensors very cheap now, which will mean more companies will look to incorporate them into more types of products. With TG0, what’s great is the combination of the sensor and the AI – that ability to synthesise the raw data into insights. Just because we have more and more sensors for things doesn’t mean we’ll be able to understand more. You need something to extract meaning from that continuous stream of data.
Tell us one thing your colleagues wouldn’t know about you
I used to be obsessed with origami. I was the youngest teacher at the British Origami Society when I was 11 and went on Blue Peter to show off my folding skills. I think I did it too much and ruined it for myself, but I might go back to it one day.
If you’d like to meet Samuel to ask about origami, techno, or TG0 sensors, email him at samueliliffe@tg0.co.uk.
