Students will evaluate the challenges of sustainable recycling of electronic waste and possible solutions using biotechnology.
Students will design and develop approaches that incorporate sustainability and biotechnology to address wicked challenges, such as the accumulation of discarded electronics.
Topics
Why is the sustainable disposal of electronic waste a global and challenging problem?
Principles of Sustainability
The Scientific Method
Introduction to Biotechnology
Reading Critically as a Community of Scholars
Experimental Design
Demystifying Big Data & High-throughput Approaches
Communicating Science with the Public
Lab Sessions:
Introduction to genes, genomes, and pangenomes – 3 weeks
Studying communities of microbes and their environments – 3 weeks
Designing your experiments – 2 weeks
Troubleshooting, incorporating feedback, and reevaluating – 3 weeks