Page History

• Intro: uh ..... olive oil? If available.
• What is synbio? How is it different than bioengineering?
• Semester overview / expectations
  • Instructor / advisor roles
• Project possibilities
  • Weiss lab biases
  • Student roles / specializations
• Project list - assignments
• How to find a paper
• How to read a paper
• Homework: find and read (at least) one paper about the "state of the art" on your problem
  Come next week prepared to discuss one specific problem

GOAL: Learn more about reading papers; science-as-storytelling; group brainstorming

• White board silent brainstorming
  • Project owner gives title, specific problem
  • Others: other problems, solutions, observations, connections, approaches
• Review projects together
• TPS: paper-reading experience
• Papers II
  • TPS: paper-reading experience
  • Concept map: parts of a paper < – > parts of an experiment
  • Introduction to science-as-storytelling
  • Intro to record keeping.
• Homework: meet as a group, find and read one paper about your project; come prepared to present ONE EXPERIMENT

GOAL: Narrow down to three projects

• Intro: ??
• Each group presents (10 min each)
• Vote or self-assort to three projects
• Intro to synbio as a problem-solving strategy
  • Parts, circuits, input / processing / actuation
• Homework: meet as a subgroup (with advisors, this time); propose two synbio-based approaches; come up with one relevant paper for each.

GOAL: Narrow down to two projects.

• Intro: ??
• Each group presents.
• Vote one project off the island. (Preference voting?)
• Classwork & homework: swap projects. (Ie, if you were working on Project #1, this week you work on Project #2. The one that was voted off self-assorts.)
  Propose two (different) synbio-based approaches; come up with one relevant paper for each. 

Final project selection.

• Review and vote.
• Identify holes in knowledge, ways forward.

• Project presentation, then feedback about
  • working / group project structure (what are the parallel tracks?)
  • risks?
  • positives / benefits?

May 7