BIOMATERIALITY
by Shaily Sharma
Shaily Sharma
I'm a first-year undergrad student at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the Designed Objects department. I have an undergrad degree in biotechnology and have constantly been involved in Biodesign. My portfolio consists of bioplastic works and my experiments with it. Currently in grad school I've been working with microbial dyes and oxygen rich algae and have been trying to create objects/products with it. I have previous experience with working in a DIY biolab and am looking to network in the Biodesign community to move further into this field professionally.
Contact info
Email: shailysharma1904 [at] gmail [dot] com
Over 300 million tonnes of plastic waste per year. Less than 10% being recycled.
More than one tonne of plastic waste per human on the planet. How do I contribute towards change?"
This led me to my experiments with bioplastics and how I could contribute towards the plastic suffocation that we are leading our planet towards. I have tried to experiment with multiple recipes and composites that can make the production of bioplastics more feasible, practical and sustainable than what it already is.
My second project involves the use of bioplastic composite materials (involving sawdust, nutrients and soil) to create a planter capable of enriching the plant growing in the pot with the right nutrients, imbibing moisture from time to time to the soil and contributing towards a fully circular life cycle of the planter.
