Template:Virginia/Public Engagement

Public Engagement

Summer Camp

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   <img src="T--Virginia--2018_UVA2018_Outreach.jpg" alt="SummerCamp1">
   <figcaption> Some team members posing with Shaun Moshasha, CEO of Open BioLabs.  </figcaption>

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   <img src="T--Virginia--2018_UVA2018_Outreach1.jpg" alt="SummerCamp2">
   <figcaption> Joseph and Kevin discussing world problems related to sythetic biology. (Photo taken by Angela Yi) </figcaption>

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We attended the Kids College summer camp held at Charlottesville Albemarle Technical Education Center (CATEC) “Manipulating Life Itself & Human Cyborg” in collaboration with Charlottesville Open Bio Lab. The students of the summer camp was aged between 12 to 16.

We helped them run and understand the gels, talked about our iGEM project, and helped them brainstorm what kind of world problems they could solve with synthetic biology. Here's something of the ideas they came up with:

  • Microplastics in ocean: Put dormant bacteria into plastic that becomes active through contact with salt water. The bacteria will then degrade the plastic.

  • Cleaner air: Put a plant on top of a bird and collect all the CO2 in the air. When the bird collects all the CO2 it can, it will go into a pit and die.

  • Mad science: Combine the DNA of a rhino, cat, and jellyfish to make a glowing unicorn cat.

The students came up with many interesting project ideas related to synthetic biology; it was definitely a huge success for students in the community to explore the field of synthetic biology!

Public Forum

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   <img src="T--Virginia--2018_Forum.png" alt="PublicForum">
   <figcaption> Our flyer for our public forum. (Design by Dylan Culfogienis) </figcaption>

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While trying to reach out to some bio-manufacturing companies, a company turned us down and said that they did not want to be associated with “genetic engineered bacteria”. We followed up with them and had a short talk about why they did not wanted to be associated about genetically engineered bacteria. We found out that the reason they tried so hard to get non-GMO certified was because of “customer reasons”, as consumers prefer “non-GMO” products.

Because of this, we wanted to provide a platform for the Charlottesville community to talk about the ethical concerns of GMO products, including food, pharmaceuticals, and every day products such as paper.

On Wednesday, September 26th 2018, the 2018 Virginia iGEM team collaborated with Charlottesville Open Bio Labs to hold a public forum, Do You Know GMO? The event brought people together to discuss about their thoughts on GMO.