SHyNE Hosts 2022 iNano Spring Meeting!

iNano, a collaboration between Northwestern’s SHyNE Resource Center, University of Chicago’s Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility & Argonne National Laboratories held their 2022 Spring Meeting Convergence of Synthetic Biology with Data Science: Promises, Prospects and Perils! on April 27^th over Zoom. The themes this year offered a fascinating exploration of what it means to offer artificial intelligence and synthetic biological solutions to global problems.

After a warm welcome by NUANCE Director Vinayak P. Dravid and Sera L. Young, MA, PhD, attendees were treated to presentations by Michael Jewett, PhD, Director of the Center for Synthetic Biology Department at Northwestern; Arvind Ramanathan, PhD, Computational Biologist and Scientist at Argonne National Laboratory; and PhD candidate Austin Clyde with the Department of Computer Science at the University of Chicago. Each of the distinguished speakers provided a comprehensive overview of how synthetic biology and artificial intelligence have already had, and will continue to have, an impact on global markets, health, communication, education, and in almost every field you can imagine!

The meeting concluded with a panel discussion brilliantly moderated by Sera L. Young, MA, PhD, who, as an Associate Professor in Anthropology and Global Health, was able to offer a social science perspective not often found in more technical science meeting spaces. And a final conclusion by SHyNE Director of Operations, Dr. Kamran Mobarhan. What a great opportunity to have lively discourse on the intersection of science and technology and the role it will continue to play in society! Thank you to all the presenters and attendees—we look forward to seeing you all at the next iNANO meeting!

If you would like to check out the iNANO Spring Meeting program, including talk titles, you can find it here. You can also view a recording of the meeting on our YouTube channel!