Clare Johnston developed the RCA Materials for Living hub with colleagues Anne Toomey and Dr Claire Pajaczkowska, which explores the way materials extend across all design practice and connect design to material science.

Clare has been a board member of the Material and Design Exchange (MADE), which is part of the UK Materials Knowledge Transfer Network, linking the creative industries to science and technology since 2006.

She was an adviser on the Materials KTN exhibition MADE in Future (Milan, October 2010) and took part in the UK KTN mission to the Netherlands, Designing out Waste, in January 2011.

An international two-day conference 'Materials for Life' is planned for April 2012 at the Royal College of Art, which aims to encourage the convergence of material science, design and social needs.