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Biodesign NYC


ASSIGNMENT ONE


Rhode Island School of Design  |  New York City
Wintersession RISD Global Travel Course  | Jan 5-26, 2025
Peter Yeadon, Professor  |  pyeadon@risd.edu
Upasana Pandey, Teaching Assistant  |  upandey@risd.edu
Due 1/6/25 @ 12:00 PM  |  20%



ASSIGNMENT ONE


Throughout this course, we will be meeting people who are members of the biodesign/bioart and bioscience/biotech community in NYC. They’ll be sharing their work and interests with you, and we’ll be discussing the broad range of issues it raises and engages. We’ll be meeting with a diverse range of important individuals and organizations that have been vital to the creation and development of the biodesign community in NYC, well before City, State, and Federal agencies started to invest in the region as a driver for the future bioeconomy. These individuals and groups are listed in the syllabus Course Schedule. There are other organizations that have been instrumental as well, but these individuals and groups have been chosen because they demonstrate the breadth and depth of support for biodesign that has evolved in NYC over the past decade and more.

This assignment, Assignment 1, will help you to prepare for our upcoming meetings and conversations with these pioneers, and will also support you in meeting our Course Objectives.

FOR ALL STUDENTS

Before NOON on Monday, January 6, 2025, each and every student is required to:

  1. BROWSE the websites of the organizations that we’ll be meeting, as listed in the syllabus Course Schedule, to learn about what they do, their missions, and their members
  2. READ Beyond Biomimicry by William Myers
  3. BROWSE the projects, readings, and glossary that are published in Nature: Collaborations in Design by Caitlin Condell, Andrea Lipps, Matilda McQuaid, Gène Bertrand, Hans Gubbels
  4. READ pages 6-13 in Grow the Future: Visions of Biodesign by Daniel Grushkin
  5. READ pages 176-216 in Grow the Future: Visions of Biodesign by Daniel Grushkin
  6. BROWSE the projects that are published in Grow the Future: Visions of Biodesign by Daniel Grushkin

FOR TEAM ONE

Before NOON on Monday, January 6, 2025, Melissa and Elaine are required to also:

  1. WATCH and DISCUSS A Hairy Issue by Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (BDC 2022)
  2. WATCH and DISCUSS River Defenders by Ball State University (BDC 2021)
  3. RE-READ and DISCUSS Making Better Social Structures by William Myers, in Grow the Future: Visions of Biodesign
  4. RESEARCH and DISCUSS any one of the projects that is published in the Simulate chapter of Nature: Collaborations in Design
  5. PREPARE to lead a 20 minute presentation and class discussion on any three of the four items above
  6. UPLOAD your team presentation and any other files you’ll need into a team folder that you’ve created here, before NOON on Monday, January 6, 2025

FOR TEAM TWO

Before NOON on Monday, January 6, 2025, Natalie and Tanvi are required to also:

  1. WATCH Mus(t)go by Universidad de Los Andes (BDC 2022)
  2. WATCH Zebra Glass by College for Creative Studies, Detroit (BDC 2020)
  3. RE-READ and DISCUSS The Consumerist Pregnancy by Ani Liu, in Grow the Future: Visions of Biodesign
  4. RESEARCH and DISCUSS any one of the projects that is published in the Salvage chapter of Nature: Collaborations in Design
  5. PREPARE to lead a 20 minute presentation and class discussion on any three of the four items above
  6. UPLOAD your team presentation and any other files you’ll need into a team folder that you’ve created here, before NOON on Monday, January 6, 2025

FOR TEAM THREE

Before NOON on Monday, January 6, 2025, Sheetal and Moselle are required to also:

  1. WATCH Mosquitoes and Lemons by California College of the Arts (BDC 2022)
  2. WATCH Dirty Playground by Design Academy Eindhoven (BDC 2021)
  3. RE-READ and DISCUSS Biotech: An Environmentalist’s Dilemma by Todd Kuiken, in Grow the Future: Visions of Biodesign
  4. RESEARCH and DISCUSS any one of the projects that is published in the Facilitate chapter of Nature: Collaborations in Design
  5. PREPARE to lead a 20 minute presentation and class discussion on any three of the four items above
  6. UPLOAD your team presentation and any other files you’ll need into a team folder that you’ve created here, before NOON on Monday, January 6, 2025

FOR TEAM FOUR

Before NOON on Monday, January 6, 2025, Katie and Victoria are required to also:

  1. WATCH SlimeVolt by School of the Art Institute of Chicago (BDC 2022)
  2. WATCH Pseudofreeze (3:35:16) by Universidad de los Andes (BDC 2019)
  3. RE-READ and DISCUSS Why I Prefer Low-Tech Biodesign by Christina Congdell, in Grow the Future: Visions of Biodesign
  4. RESEARCH and DISCUSS any one of the projects that is published in the Augment chapter of Nature: Collaborations in Design
  5. PREPARE to lead a 20 minute presentation and class discussion on any three of the four items above
  6. UPLOAD your team presentation and any other files you’ll need into a team folder that you’ve created here, before NOON on Monday, January 6, 2025

FOR TEAM FIVE

Before NOON on Monday, January 6, 2025, Kyan and Sakina are required to also:

  1. WATCH Power Mutualism by Tongji University (BDC 2022)
  2. WATCH RE-Form by College for Creative Studies, Detroit (BDC 2021)
  3. RE-READ and DISCUSS The Beehive of Our Knowledge by Whitney Gaskins and Nandita Baxi Sheth, in Grow the Future: Visions of Biodesign
  4. RESEARCH and DISCUSS any one of the projects that is published in the Remediate chapter of Nature: Collaborations in Design
  5. PREPARE to lead a 20 minute presentation and class discussion on any three of the four items above
  6. UPLOAD your team presentation and any other files you’ll need into a team folder that you’ve created here, before NOON on Monday, January 6, 2025

FOR TEAM SIX
Before NOON on Monday, January 6, 2025, Lara and Jeremy are required to also:

  1. WATCH CaCo by Universidad del Desarrollo (BDC 2022)
  2. WATCH Consume Our Consumption (2:30:38) by University of Texas at Austin (BDC 2024)
  3. RE-READ and DISCUSS Lovesick Futures by Heather Dewey-Hagborg, in Grow the Future: Visions of Biodesign
  4. RESEARCH and DISCUSS any one of the projects that is published in the Nurture chapter of Nature: Collaborations in Design
  5. PREPARE to lead a 20 minute presentation and class discussion on any three of the four items above
  6. UPLOAD your team presentation and any other files you’ll need into a team folder that you’ve created here, before NOON on Monday, January 6, 2025


At 1:00 PM on Monday, January 6th, each team will have 20 minutes, total, to deliver their presentation and lead a class discussion on aspects of biodesign that they critically examined, considered, and discussed in reviewing the materials that they were assigned, above.