This paper reviews the research and outcomes of a six-month Residency in the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at King's College, London. The initiative was launched by the Crafts Council and the Kings Cultural Institute to build problem-solving and haptic skills among students. However, the collaboration swiftly evolved into a wide ranging investigation of the central role of glass in a new generation of light responsive systems that will be used to diagnose and treat a range of health conditions in the future: quantum dots, hyper-uniform lattices and pressure-sensing fibre-optic networks. The presentation will discuss the hybrid analogue-digital strategies adapted to explore and express these principles and will conclude with illustrations from an exhibition at the Utopia Festival in Somerset House which took place July 2016.
