University of California, Davis
PROJECTS | 2020
Trash Trolls
Ale Valladares, Devyn Durhman, River Taylor
The project proposes adding scoops of microbes to trash bags. These microbes, known as methanotrophs, convert methane into carbon dioxide and can mitigate greenhouse gas emitted at landfills.
https://trashtrolls.wixsite.com/trashtrolls
Finalist Team
BioShine
Olivia de Polo, Pavithra Pandian, Mikaela Pham, Megan Wang
The team designed a makeup that uses bacteria to ethically replace mica in shimmery makeup products. Mica mining has been linked to child labor and respiratory health issues among miners.
https://bioshine2020.wixsite.com/bioshine
MANA Prize for the Future of Beauty Finalist
Bio-dNitric
Stephanie Ha, Sugan Manohar, Miyuki Sun
This project proposes a prototype for a microbial cellulose bioreactor that reduces nitrogen concentration in agricultural runoff using the bacteria pseudomonas stutzeri.
Biolla
Yue Jin, Nancy Marshall, Daniel Tran
Biolla is a water irrigation system that makes use of waste byproduct, sand-alternative biocementation materials.
BioHome PE Composter
An Nguyen, Adela Palominos, Emily Carlson
A DIY single-use plastic composting kit that includes plastic eating organisms such as mealworms, waxworms, and oyster mushrooms that biodegrade and decompose plastic waste into materials that can be reintroduced back into the environment.
Geobacterry
Christina Lin, Maya Mysore, Chantal Trejo
A mycelium-based rechargeable battery powered by the bacteria Geobacter sulfurreducens.
nICEbox
Khing Nipada Srisereenuwat, Cameron Evans, Harman Kaur
An electricity-free refrigeration unit made of biocement that relies on the metabolism of bacteria to power cooling.
instructors
Christina Cogdell
Christina Cogdell is Chair and Professor of the Department of Design at UC Davis. She researches the history of biodesign as well as current theories and practices. She is the author of Toward a Living Architecture? Complexism and Biology in Generative Design (2019) and Eugenic Design: Streamlining America in the 1930s (2004).
Dave Furlow
Dave Furlow is Professor in the Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior and the Director of the University Honors Program at UC Davis. He researches topics in the molecular basis of hormone action, particularly during development, the analysis of gene expression programs during morphogenesis, and genome editing in model organisms, particularly applied to nuclear hormone receptor function.
Marc Facciotti
Marc Facciotti is a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Genomics at UC Davis. He interested in the building of, for and with biological systems. In particular, the Facciotti Lab seeks to understand biological organizational principles occurring at the cellular, molecular and genetic scales.