Welcome to the 10th Annual Biodesign Challenge Summit!

Location

June 12, 8:30am – 6:00pm | The New School, Johnson Hall
66 W 12th Street, New York, NY 10011

June 12, 6:00pm – 8:00pm | Summit Gallery exhibition - The New School, Arnhold Hall
55 W 13th Street, 2nd Floor New York, NY 10011

June 13, 8:30am – 5:00pm | The Museum of Modern Art, Titus 1 Theater
11 West 53rd Street New York, NY 10019
(Please check in at The Ronald S. and Jo Carole Lauder building entrance (MoMA Film entrance) east of the main entrance on W 53rd St.)

Schedule

  • 8:30am: Registration

    9am: Welcome Address

    9:20am: Keynote: Carolina Obregon

    10am: Session One: Student presentations

    • A106 Auditorium:

      • University of Pennsylvania

      • Zurich University of the Arts

      • University of Macau

      • Indiana University

    • A406 Lecture Hall:

      • McGill University

      • Maryland Institute College of Art

      • San Francisco State University

      • Technical University of Denmark + Royal Danish Academy

    • A407 Lecture Hall:

      • Iowa State University

      • Universidad de los Andes

      • University of Nebraska - Lincoln

      • Academy for Software Engineering

    • A404 Lecture Hall:

      • New Design High School

      • Auburn University (Wild Alchemy)

      • Parsons (Eco-Skin)

      • Macromedia University

    11am: Break

    11:15am: Session Two: Student presentations

    • A106 Auditorium:

      • Robert College

      • Maine College of Art and Design

      • Parsons (GVS)

      • Universidad del Desarrollo

    • A406 Lecture Hall:

      • Rutgers University

      • University of Ljubljana

      • Fashion Institute of Technology

      • Northumbria University

    • A407 Lecture Hall:

      • Pratt Institute

      • University of New Mexico

      • Seoul National University

      • UT Austin

    • A404 Lecture Hall:

      • Stanford University

      • Alisal HS

      • LCI Barcelona

      • Concordia University

    12:15pm: Lunch

    1:30pm: Panel: Creating Nexus Points for Bio Communities

    2:30pm: Session Three: Student presentations

    • A106 Auditorium:

      • School of the Art Institute of Chicago

      • UDIT Madrid

      • CCA Design

      • Auburn University (Cypress Festival)

    • A406 Lecture Hall:

      • Genspace

      • Universidad del Istmo

      • NYU Abu Dhabi

      • Grace Church School

    • A407 Lecture Hall:

      • CCA Architecture + UCSF + Maldives National University

      • EASD Castello

      • NYU IDM

      • University of Lapland

    • A404 Lecture Hall:

      • Petrichor Experimental Learning

      • University of Richmond

      • Moholy-Nagy University

      • Penn State University

    3:30pm: Break

    3:45pm: Session Four: Student presentations

    • A106 Auditorium:

      • Syracuse University

      • BioBus + Brotherhood Sister Sol

    • A406 Lecture Hall:

      • Northeastern University

    • A407 Lecture Hall:

      • East Hampton High School

    • A404 Lecture Hall:

      • Tec Monterrey - Queretaro

    4:30pm: Closing Address

    6:00 - 8:00pm: Gallery Show

  • 8:30am: Registration

    9am: Welcome & Finalist Announcement

    9:10am: Performance: Sue Huang

    9:30am: Top 8 Presentations

    10:30am: Break

    10:45am: Top 8 Presentations

    11:45am: Lunch + Excursions, Student Video Screenings

    2:15pm: 10th Anniversary Commemoration

    2:30pm: Keynote: Eben Bayer

    3:00pm: Outstanding Digital Submission Winner Video

    3:10 pm: Awards + Closing Remarks

    3:40 pm: Photos in Garden

Summit Speakers & Performers

Gallery Show – BDC10: Biodesigning the Global Village

In 1962, theorist Marshall McLuhan proposed the idea of the global village, an integrated worldwide society that has resulted from technological advancements in electronic communications. Over the past ten years, Biodesign Challenge participants have explored alternative paradigms of interconnectedness, contending with the complexities of harnessing biological capabilities to reimagine our world as one inextricably linked through living matter.

For the 10th annual Biodesign Challenge, students from our largest international cohort yet present a new global village: a future that positions Biodesign at the core of its emergence. BDC10: Biodesigning the Global Village includes projects from this year’s Biodesign Challenge arranged in four thematic areas of this reimagined world: Cornerstones; Conditions; Creations; and Civilizations. Projects from each section present applications of Biodesign across fundamental scales of our society ranging from the material to the abstract. 

Join us on the evening of June 12th, 2025 for a showcase of the potential of an interdisciplinary society revitalized through the biological and life sciences.

When: Thursday June 12, 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Where: Arnhold Hall - Theresa Lang Center, 55 W 13th St, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10011

Summit Judges

Beyond the Summit

Join BDC 2026! The early registration deadline is September 24th.

Register a classroom or team for BDC 2026→

Or first book is a compilation of projects and ideas that are influencing the emerging field of biodesign.

Learn more and preorder the BDC book→

BDC 2025 Sponsors

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thank you to everyone who has made our BDC Summit so inspiring!

If you'd like to sponsor or support BDC to provide opportunities for our students, follow the link below to learn more about ways you can support us.

The Biodesign Challenge Summit 2025 is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.