Chris Woebken / Elizabeth Hénaff

Metagenomics is the field of research which investigates the microbial component of
the environment. It is a rapidly growing field, enabled by the recent decrease in cost
and increase in throughput of DNA sequencing technology. We can now measure the
microbial component of our environment and have the opportunity to incorporate this
new microbial metric into the design of our built environments and products.
In this class we will cover a basic understanding of the state of current research in
environmental microbiomes. Students will get hands-on experience in which they will
collect their own samples, obtain DNA sequences, and learn the computational
methods to analyze genomic data. We will design physical devices to interact with this
invisible component of our environment, either in form of sampling instruments,
bioreactors or bio receptive substrates that propose new symbiotic relationships with
the microbial environment.
By the completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Understand of the state of current research in environmental microbiomes
• Hands on experience gathering samples and computational methods for DNA
  sequence analysis for individual samples and comparative methods for large datasets
• Introduce speculative thinking to their practice
• Materialize concepts with new strategies for rapid product prototyping
• Develop technological visions that provoke thought rather than communicate a vision
  of how things will or should be
  We will work with free and publicly available datasets. Students that are interested in
  gathering their own sequence data, should expect to cover $200 for outside lab costs
  (optional).