FAB25 — Best Research Paper Awards

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Each year, as part of the annual FABx Event, an open call for relevant academic research is sent out to the community. The FAB25 research papers stream included original scholarly writing from researchers studying the Fab Lab movement, its ambitions, and its impact from a wide range of disciplines, including computer science, engineering, science and technology studies, business and management, education, urban studies, media and design, and many more. After careful review, the winning papers have been selected.

Presenting the Best Research Papers of FAB25:

Winner

Winner of the FAB25 Best Paper Award is Tomas Vivanco with his contribution on “Hyperlocal Bio-Hygienic Technologies.”

This is a compelling and robust paper framed as research through design (RTD), exploring sustainable, hyperlocal alternatives to mass-produced hygiene products by leveraging indigenous production techniques and locally sourced biomaterials from four distinct Chilean bioregions. This research proposes a decentralized model for personal hygiene product development that considers local materials, heritage, and communities, aligning with ecological and cultural sustainability. From a review perspective, we consider this to be a well-grounded study that is clearly rooted in bioregional sensitivities. It is more than simply exploring local and ecological materials; it presents a study that is strongly contextualized locally and very well positioned within current research to make a clear and strong contribution to Fab Lab research.

First Runner-Up

First runner-up is Jessica Stanley with “Opportunities and considerations for flexible electronics fabrication using a vinyl cutter.”

This is a study probing flexible electronics. Jessica points out to us that this is something that’s not really seen widespread uptake in Fab Labs. She describes in minutious detail two different fabrication methods for flexible PCBs. Jessica puts her research in the wider context by comparing the methods to standard techniques. She also gives an overview of projects and techniques that are available inside Fab Labs and outside of Fab Labs. From a review perspective, we see this as a very valuable and practical contribution to the Fab Lab community, demonstrating accessible methods for flexible electronics fabrication. The novelty lies in the practical adaptation and optimization of existing techniques for community use. This type of contribution is essential for advancing digital fabrication accessibility.

Second Runner-Up

Second runner-up are Jan Peuckert, Victoria Wenzelmann and Gerrit Rüdebusch with “Measuring the Impacts of Fab Labs: A Review of Quantitative Research and Evidence.”

This paper is an examination of the academic literature around Fab Labs and their scientific impact, especially talking quantitatively. As a systematic literature review, the paper summarizes the findings from several hundred studies, which is really handy. The review uses the Fab City Full Stack as a framework, mapping the studies to seven interconnected layers, from local production technologies to global knowledge sharing, which reveals what researchers are studying when they’re talking about quantitative impacts and also, importantly, what they are not studying. The results indicate that there is room and need for more research. From a review perspective, we appreciate the rigor with which this study was conducted and presented and also how the authors consider the notion of impact across quite a wide variety of different types of literature. This is clearly a relevant study and topic for everyone here as researchers and practitioners.

Congratulations to all winners, and thanks to everyone who contributed to the growing body of research on the impact of the Fab Lab movement. Thanks, as well, to Peter Troxler and Cindy Kohtala for their continued service to Fab Lab research, their diligent review of this year’s submissions, and their contributions to this article.

All research papers presented at FAB25, in Brno & Prague, Czechia, July 4-11, 2025, can be found here: https://zenodo.org/records/16789442.