Seminar Series 2010-11
International Seminar Series
9th February, 12.00, MIB Lecture Theatre
Prof. Jane Calvert, INNOGEN, School of Social and Political Science University of Edinburgh
Synthetic Aesthetics: synthetic biology, social science, art and design
Something that makes the emerging field of synthetic biology particularly interesting is that diverse groups including social scientists, ethicists, lawyers, policy makers, artists and designers are becoming involved in the field from the outset. In this presentation I explore the opportunities and challenges provided by these new forms of collaboration, drawing both on my experiences as a social scientist studying synthetic biology, and on the ‘Synthetic Aesthetics’ project, which brought six synthetic biologists together with six artists and designers in paired residences. The project’s participants were working in a variety of subfields of synthetic biology (standardized parts, protocells, cyanobacteria, plant science, and cell signalling) and in a range of different forms of art and design (product design, architecture, critical design, bioart, smell, and music). This presentation explores these collaborations, which involved a diverse range of activities including: extracting the logic of biology and applying it to architecture, sonifying amino acids, integrating ‘design thinking’ into synthetic biology, making cheese from bacteria that grow on human skin, and re-interpreting synthetic biology from the humbling perspective of geological time. The presentation ends by evaluating the project's on-going attempts to develop new forms of collaboration, to provide new spaces for cooperation and debate, and to promote reflection on all sides.
http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/staff/innogen/calvert_jane
15th February, 12.00, MIB Lecture Theatre
Prof. Peter Seeberger
Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Department of Biomolecular Systems
http://www.mpikg.mpg.de/english/cont_issues/news/pm20080828/index.html
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