Read more about the ongoing work of Will Carey and Adam Reineck from IDEO and Reid Williams from the Lim Lab at UCSF in this FastCompany article here.

Read the article here.

"Although traditional disciplinary boundaries are dissolving, the cultural differences between scientists and engineers remain strong. For biologists, genetic modification is a tool to understand natural systems, not an end in itself. Thus, making biological systems 'engineerable' — a goal of engineers in the field of synthetic biology — can seem pointless. Many biologists wonder why engineers fail to appreciate the intricate, beautiful and sophisticated designs that occur naturally. Engineers are often equally perplexed by biologists. Why are they so obsessed about the details of one particular system? Why don't they appreciate the value of replacing a complex and idiosyncratic system with a simpler, more modular and more predictable alternative? These misunderstandings can make for fascinating conversations, but they can also prevent mutually beneficial synergies."

IDEO brainstorm

e-coli

Many copies of Tec 1 have been successfully copied using PCR, both Adam and I were really impressed by the ability of polymerase to copy the exact part of the cell required for our experiment. It made us think that this machine like functions at such a small cellular level, could be used for other applications. What if we could take such principle sand apply them to the actual material and its behavior in various conditions. We imagined how this might affect packaging, the design of behavior in material object s and other opportunities that make up the physical environment of our everyday life’s.

Adam is preparing media to grow our e-coli bacteria, could this scene be inspiration for what the factories of tomorrow may look like? As designers we often stay one step  removed from the factory floors that manufacture and assemble the consumer goods that we design.  Taking a hands on approach to the creation of altered living cells is certainly one step ahead of what we are used to designing. Could this be the beginning of a new material future, are these the tools that may one day be in the hands of many or is this just confined to the specialist of the laboratory?

Uri Alon speaks about the challenges scientist face when choosing the focus of their experimental work and paper writing, he draws a interesting parallel with the sense of confusion and disorientation that one can feel when stuck in what he calls the cloud. This is the fuzzy space between the start of your research point A and the end, point B. Alon notes that few scientist are comfortable with deviating from their initial goal of getting to point B, and he believes that being comfortable with an alternative direction and destination such as point C vs point B is essential for getting to better and more interesting results.

As designers we often face similar challenges when we embark on design projects, with either a particular set of assumptions, or project goals set by a brief. User centered research and observations often call for a reframing of the original questions set by a brief, resulting in a course correction in what the original intent of the project should be. The ability to make discoveries and being comfortable in not knowing what the end result will look like is something that design process enables us to be comforatble with.

The cross over in process between science and design is a rich space to learn from. Can design bring alternative methods and process that can enable better scientific questions to be asked? Can science give designers a rich space to challenge their creative abilities?

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