Our Vision: Grow the Future

Biotechnology is spreading into every aspect of our lives—from our materials to our everyday products. As it becomes ubiquitous, society needs interdisciplinary thinkers to understand biotech’s impact and to come up with the next solutions. BDC bridges art, design, and biotech to develop the first generation of professionals who cross disciplines, anticipate promises and pitfalls, and engage the public in dialogue about the broader implications of emerging biotech.

Future designers must fully understand the debates surrounding biotech so when they are asked to design with it, they do so thoughtfully and ethically. To thrive, we need a multiplicity of perspectives across disciplinary, professional, and cultural backgrounds.

Our goal is to encourage students to explore biotech’s entanglements within society—in the way it empowers people, contributes to structural inequities, and creates opportunities for change.

To this end, BDC’s goals are threefold:

1) to create a community of collaboration among artists, designers, and biologists;

2) to seed the first generation of biodesigners; and

3) to build meaningful public dialogue about biotech and its uses.

We invite you into our community, and hope you’ll join us on this journey.

Yours,

Daniel Grushkin
Founder
Biodesign Challenge