A Peek at the Possibilities of Biodesign

An air purifier filled with spider webs, a toilet insert that filters estrogen, a cactus-like water harvester—these were just a few of the ambitious and creative ideas presented at the first Biodesign Challenge, which took place on June 23, 2016. Held at the Museum of Modern Art, the gathering presented the work of 9 teams of students who designed a concept, product, or material that was biologically-inspired. The challenge—which scientists pitched and judged—gave students the unique opportunity to work with researchers to apply scientific principles to their particular field of design.

Find out more about the projects featured in this video!

Credits

Produced by Luke Groskin
Music by Audio Network
Additional video and stills provided by:
“Bioesters” – FIT
Tessa Callaghan, Gian Cui, Aleksandra Gosiewski,
Aaron Nesser, Theanne Schiros, Asta Skocir

“Liver Clear” – RPI
Amanda Harrold, Kathleen McDermott, Jacob Steiner
and Perrine Papillaud

“Dewpoint” – SAIC
Bailey Beatt, Maurice Hampton, Jackie Huang, and Sam Scheib

“Mutua” – SCI-ARC
Mun Yi Cheng, Caleb Fisher, Fangyuan Hu, Brendan Ho,
Ryan Odom, Anthony Stoffella & Xiangtia Sun

“Stabilimentum” – UPenn
Mónica Butler, Jiwon Woo
Charged web footage from Oxford University

Meet the Producer

About Luke Groskin

Luke Groskin is Science Friday’s video producer. He’s on a mission to make you love spiders and other odd creatures.