Agar Art has become a more popular area of microbiology over the last few years with increasing attention from the American Society of Microbiology's annual competition highlighting the beautiful effects that this media can illicit using organism. Agar Art utilizes microorganisms placed on a medium called agar to create imagery that can change based on environmental and chemical exposures. Modifications to media and even the organisms can completely change an image's appearance. This experience would explore changes we can make to standard media to see the adaptive changes the organisms undergo. Students will design an image that can be tracked over time and with our different changes.
Student will create a basic design that the student can translate into components for tracking and performing the art. Then the student will perform cultures with a set of known organisms and record differences after incubation. Depending on the parameters set for the experiment, students would be required to perform bench work in the lab for at least 8 lab days of two hours. In each week, there would be a session for setting cultures and another for recording results. Even with experience, it should be expected that the student researcher would be required to do/have bio safety training and then lab specific training for protocols, which would occur before the initial bench work. Student researchers would also learn media preparation and culture techniques to expand past the initially prepared media.
There is no course prerequisite, though a working knowledge of basic needs for life is helpful. Students with an interest in microbiology, biology, and art are encouraged, as well as those with interests in bioengineering.
Students would need to have blocks of at least 2 hours available on Monday, Wednesday or Friday in the fall semester, but options in spring are available everyday. Currently, the research is performed at Schuylkill, but there are hopes for remote options in the future.
A list of courses that could inform your interests and desire in science art combination research should be included in the email.
Interested students should email the PI, Ms. Mary Ann Smith, mvs14, to discuss the opportunity. Please include any relevant experience and your reason for interest in the project.