Ecology for Biodesign Presentation

In March of 2022, I gave a webinar presentation to students and mentors from around the world for the 2022 Biodesign Challenge. This annual challenge tasks students and their mentors with combining biotechnology, art, and design in projects that range from making new products with biology to critiquing the rising biotechnology industry. Many students are art, design, engineering, and fashion students, rather than biologists, so this competition is often their first foray into living systems.

As an ecologist and five-time competition judge, I often ask participants tough questions about how their projects will affect both natural and built ecosystems. As part of this work, I was asked to provide the 2022-onward students with a live (and recorded) talk that would help them understand ecology and the impact of design on ecosystems. You can watch the talk on YouTube.

As an artist, I illustrated all the slides myself, which you see here.