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The Collaborations between Artists and Scientists or Engineers fund encourages collaborations between faculty and scholars in the arts and those in the natural sciences or engineering to promote synergistic innovations, allowing experts in seemingly unrelated fields to expand their collective knowledge in ways that benefit both disciplines.
Omenn-Darling Bioengineering Institute faculty members José Avalos, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, and Peter Jaffe, William L. Knapp '47 Professor of Civil Engineering and professor of civil and environmental engineering, received funding for “Forever chemicals, ecological futures: A collaboration of bioremediation science and multimedia storytelling.” They will collaborate with Allison Carruth, Professor of American Studies and the High Meadows Environmental Institute, Director of Blue Lab; and David Reinfurt, Professor of the Practice, Visual Arts in the Lewis Center for the Arts.
This collaboration connects biological and environmental engineering with science communication and visual media to engage diverse communities with the ecological ubiquity of long-lived environmental contaminants known as per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The researchers, which include research associate scholar Mansha Seth Pasricha, will combine the development of bioengineering solutions to biodegrade these forever chemicals with the production of an innovative lab-to-field series of mixed-media documentary shorts, data visualizations, and local events involving science museums, environmental justice groups, and community arts organizations to raise awareness and engage responses.
A collaboration to investigate the dynamics among humans, machines, and the environment also received funding.