Daniel Grushkin, Veena Vijayakumar
Biodesign Challenge is an education program and competition that is shaping the first generation of biodesigners. BDC partners high school and university students with scientists, artists, and designers to envision, create, and critique transformational applications in biotech. https://biodesignchallenge.org
Daniel Grushkin is founder and director of BDC. He is co-founder of Genspace, a nonprofit community laboratory dedicated to promoting citizen science and access to biotechnology. Daniel has been a Fellow at Data & Society, a Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and an Emerging Leader in Biosecurity at the UPMC Center of Health Security. As a journalist, he has reported on the intersection of biotechnology, culture, and business for publications including Bloomberg Businessweek, Fast Company, Scientific American and Popular Science.
Veena Vijayakumar is the Program Manager of BDC. She studied Art History and Integrative Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and received an MA in Museum Studies from San Francisco State University. Veena has focused on audience development and public programming at museums such as The Exploratorium and the Museum of Modern Art. Her research, programs, and writing highlight the value of interdisciplinary education, namely its potential to make learning richer and more accessible to non-expert audiences.