In September, BJU_China invited NWU-CHINA-A, QHFZ-China, and LINKS_China to hosted an online educational forum that is open to the public. The theme of the educational forum was about the history, application, production, and artistic importance of pigments and dyes. Synthetic biology was also a big part of the educational activity, since the activity is designed to publicize the idea that syn-bio technology can be applied to daily life events like the production of pigments and dyes. Together, the four teams hoped that this activity will help the public to develop deeper understanding about dyes and develop interest in synthetic biology.
The designated date for our team’s online presentation was September 19, and we hosted the forum using Tencent Meeting app to an audience group of more than 100 people. Most of our audiences were college students. During the presentation, we explained the cultural and historical significance of pigment by referencing its usage in the Greco-Roman Era and in the traditional Chinese tie-dye industry. We mentioned a variety of ways to manufacture dyes from fermenting the shells of snails to the employment of modern chemical additives. Last but not least, we linked dye production to the synthetic biology field by introducing the audience of pigments produced by genetically modified microorganisms. In the modern period, people do not have to rely on plants, animals, or chemicals to produce dye in traditional ways, but the syn-bio technology offers us a brand new way of manufacturing dyes using microorganisms like genetically modified E.coli.
Overall, the cooperative educational activity lasted for four days, and most of the audience members appreciated the activity and sent positive feedbacks.
(Link to the recorded video of presentation posted on bilibili (https://b23.tv/vQqtLR)
Figure 2a. LINKS_China’s poster about the online forum. The words in the center advocate the audience to “join the adventure to the miraculous pigment world”
Figure 2.b Logo from NWU-CHINA-A, QHFZ-China, LINKS_China, and BJU_China; order from left to right