Ingmar Riedel-Kruse

I will provide the rational for “Interactive Biotechnology,” platforms that enable lay users and students to interact with microbiological processes (living cells) with the same convenience that we are accustomed to from our electronic smart devices. I will demonstrate scalable biology cloud experimentation labs that allow students to execute such experiments over the web. A will also discuss synergistic platforms, such as scripting languages for cell swarm, tangible museum exhibits, biotic video games, and smartphone DIY kits. The biophysical phenomena currently featured on these platforms utilize the phototactic response of motile microorganisms, e.g., Euglena gracilis. I will discuss applications in formal and informal education, results from user studies in presence and online education, and our plans for future large scale dissemination. Hence, we turn traditionally observational microscopy into an interactive experience, opening a new application field for biotechnology with an expected technological and educational impact like the microcomputer revolution in the 1970s and 1980s.