Adapting: Using Design, Science + Technology for the World's Most Pressing Problems

Catalog description

2020 has amplified foundational flaws in our ecological, food, racial and environmental systems creating a persistent state of whiplash from crises, climate related catastrophes, racial injustice and industry meltdowns. While these areas may seem unrelated they actually exist within a Venn diagram of interdependency and influence where pulling a lever in one area directly impacts another area and the ability to shapeshift and adapt in the face of these rapid changes has become required for survival. This class will uncover the connections within these systems and use science, design and systems thinking to explore ways to create actionable interventions – either analog or digital – to address both the core problems and the collateral impact. Speakers from these industries: farming, restaurants, BLM, climate and ecological sciences - will present specific problems within these fields to the class in order to inspire the creation of small projects to tackle these issues. For example, interventions could be a particle sensor for a restaurant HVAC system, algorithms for precision agriculture, AI to mitigate racial profiling, data visualizations and infographics to illustrate pathways to better climate resilience.