The Harvard Biodesign team won gold medals and was nominated for best environmental project in the undergraduate category at the International Genetically Engineered Machine competition (iGEM 2016), which was held at the Hynes Convention Center from October 27th-31th, 2016. Their project, called “Plastiback,” focused on a floatable microplastic degrading bioreactor with an integrated signaling device which enabled worldwide microplastic mapping.
The team was sponsored by the Wyss Institute and the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and was advised by Wyss Core Faculty member Neel Joshi. The team conducted their research experiments at the Wyss Institute during the summer of 2016.