Please join the Iranian Engineers of BC Association (IEBCA) in an informative webinar presentation by Dr. Scott Pownall, the President and Co-founder of Open Science Network Society. This virtual event (through Zoom Meeting) is in English and free of charge, and it is open to the public. Members of Engineers and Geoscientists BC may claim 1 Continuing Education (CE) Hour for attending the event.

The bioeconomy is an emerging field viewed by many as the next frontier and the future of sustainable manufacturing. Biofoundaries use automation for assembly of multi-part DNAs to create engineered bio-systems. Traditional biofoundaries use expensive hardware/software and wetware technology that is beyond the reach of many throughout the world. Starting with open source software in 1983, the global open movement has transformed the landscape of opportunity and innovation for a wide variety of people. The release of the first open source 3D desktop printer in 2008 heralded the start of the open hardware movement and spawned the creation of low cost laboratory equipment. The Open Material Transfer Agreement (OpenMTA) was launched in 2018 and is designed to support openness, sharing, and innovation permitting the distribution of Open Wetware. Under the OpenMTA we are seeing the distribution of open DNA parts. This presentation focuses on this question: Can the Open Biofoundries using low cost open solutions based on an open software, hardware and wetware stack drive global innovation as did open source software? A Q/A session at the end of the presentation will provide an opportunity for the audience to receive answers to their questions from the presenter.