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https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportun...=core&_cview=0
[QUOTE]SUBJECT: Living Foundries Industry Day
DATE: June 28, 2011
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: June 21, 2011
[snip]
Living Foundries Industry Day, DARPA-SN-11-44
The Microsystems Technology Office (MTO) of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is sponsoring an Industry Day for "Living Foundries," a new DARPA program. The goal of the Living Foundries program is to apply an engineering framework to biology to harness its use as a technology and drive its advance as a manufacturing platform. In turning biological production into an engineering space where the only limit is the creativity of the designer, Living Foundries aims to enable on-demand production of new and high-value materials, devices and capabilities for the Department of Defense and establish a new manufacturing capability for the United States.
Because of the multidisciplinary nature of Living Foundries, DARPA is looking to engage the wider research community from fields both outside and inside the biological sciences to develop new ideas, approaches and tools to overcome current limitations and to create revolutionary capabilities.
Current, primitive examples of engineering biology rely on an ad hoc, laborious, trial-and-error process, wherein one successful project does not inform subsequent, new designs. This approach combined with the complexity of biological systems restricts current, one-off efforts to modifying only a small set of genes and constructing simple, isolated genetic circuits and metabolic pathways. Consequently, we are limited to producing only a small fraction of the vast number of possible chemicals, materials, and living systems that would be enabled by the ability to truly engineer biology. Through an engineering-driven approach to biology, Living Foundries aims to create a rapid, reliable manufacturing capability where multiple cellular functions can be fabricated, mixed and matched on demand and the whole system controlled by integrated circuitry, opening up the full space of biologically produced materials and systems. Key to success will be the democratization of the biological design and manufacturing process, breaking open the field to those outside the biological sciences.
In order to achieve the vision of Living Foundries, new tools, technologies and methodologies must be developed to transform biology into an engineering practice, decoupling design from fabrication and speeding the biological design, build, test cycle. These include: design tools that span from high-level description to fabrication in cells; modular genetic parts that allow a combination of systems to be designed and reproducibly assembled; methods for developing and fine-tuning new genetic parts and systems; well-understood test platforms, "cell-like" systems and chassis that readily integrate new genetic designs in a predictable fashion; next generation DNA synthesis and assembly techniques; and tools that allow for routine system characterization and debugging, among others. Further, these technological advances and innovations must be integrated to prove-out and push the boundaries of biological design towards the ultimate vision of point-of-use, on-demand, mass-customization biological manufacturing.
[snip]
The goals of the Industry Day are: (a) to introduce the research community (industry, academia, and Government) to the Living Foundries vision and goals; (b) to encourage and promote teaming arrangements among potential research organizations that have the relevant expertise, facilities, and capabilities for executing research and development responsive to the Living Foundries program goals; and (c) to facilitate interaction between investigators who may have capabilities to develop elements of interest and relevance to the Living Foundries goals. The Industry Day will include overview presentations, a poster session to facilitate interaction and team building among participants, and an opportunity to interact and present capabilities and concepts to government personnel in closed-door sidebar sessions.
[snip]
Areas of interest include new tools, technologies and methodologies to transform biology into an engineering practice and manufacturing platform, decouple biological design from fabrication and speed the biological design, build, test cycle. Examples include: design tools that span from high-level description to fabrication in cells; modular genetic parts that allow a combination of systems to be designed and reproducibly assembled; methods for developing and fine-tuning new genetic parts and systems; well-understood test platforms, "cell-like" systems and chassis that readily integrate new genetic designs in a predictable fashion; next generation DNA synthesis and assembly techniques; tools that allow for routine system characterization and debugging; and the integration of these capabilities for the rapid design and development of new biological systems and products, among others.....[/QUOTE]
DARPA Wants Artificial Lifeforms
The agency will fund projects aimed at speeding up synthetic biology, and creating new kinds of materials.
Katherine Bourzac 06/16/2011
Yesterday morning, at the Fifth International Meeting on Synthetic Biology at Stanford University, a representative from the DARPA announced a new program called Living Foundries that will invest in and develop synthetic biology projects....
The agency will fund projects aimed at speeding up synthetic biology, and creating new kinds of materials.
Katherine Bourzac 06/16/2011
Yesterday morning, at the Fifth International Meeting on Synthetic Biology at Stanford University, a representative from the DARPA announced a new program called Living Foundries that will invest in and develop synthetic biology projects....
[QUOTE]SUBJECT: Living Foundries Industry Day
DATE: June 28, 2011
REGISTRATION DEADLINE: June 21, 2011
[snip]
Living Foundries Industry Day, DARPA-SN-11-44
The Microsystems Technology Office (MTO) of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is sponsoring an Industry Day for "Living Foundries," a new DARPA program. The goal of the Living Foundries program is to apply an engineering framework to biology to harness its use as a technology and drive its advance as a manufacturing platform. In turning biological production into an engineering space where the only limit is the creativity of the designer, Living Foundries aims to enable on-demand production of new and high-value materials, devices and capabilities for the Department of Defense and establish a new manufacturing capability for the United States.
Because of the multidisciplinary nature of Living Foundries, DARPA is looking to engage the wider research community from fields both outside and inside the biological sciences to develop new ideas, approaches and tools to overcome current limitations and to create revolutionary capabilities.
Current, primitive examples of engineering biology rely on an ad hoc, laborious, trial-and-error process, wherein one successful project does not inform subsequent, new designs. This approach combined with the complexity of biological systems restricts current, one-off efforts to modifying only a small set of genes and constructing simple, isolated genetic circuits and metabolic pathways. Consequently, we are limited to producing only a small fraction of the vast number of possible chemicals, materials, and living systems that would be enabled by the ability to truly engineer biology. Through an engineering-driven approach to biology, Living Foundries aims to create a rapid, reliable manufacturing capability where multiple cellular functions can be fabricated, mixed and matched on demand and the whole system controlled by integrated circuitry, opening up the full space of biologically produced materials and systems. Key to success will be the democratization of the biological design and manufacturing process, breaking open the field to those outside the biological sciences.
In order to achieve the vision of Living Foundries, new tools, technologies and methodologies must be developed to transform biology into an engineering practice, decoupling design from fabrication and speeding the biological design, build, test cycle. These include: design tools that span from high-level description to fabrication in cells; modular genetic parts that allow a combination of systems to be designed and reproducibly assembled; methods for developing and fine-tuning new genetic parts and systems; well-understood test platforms, "cell-like" systems and chassis that readily integrate new genetic designs in a predictable fashion; next generation DNA synthesis and assembly techniques; and tools that allow for routine system characterization and debugging, among others. Further, these technological advances and innovations must be integrated to prove-out and push the boundaries of biological design towards the ultimate vision of point-of-use, on-demand, mass-customization biological manufacturing.
[snip]
The goals of the Industry Day are: (a) to introduce the research community (industry, academia, and Government) to the Living Foundries vision and goals; (b) to encourage and promote teaming arrangements among potential research organizations that have the relevant expertise, facilities, and capabilities for executing research and development responsive to the Living Foundries program goals; and (c) to facilitate interaction between investigators who may have capabilities to develop elements of interest and relevance to the Living Foundries goals. The Industry Day will include overview presentations, a poster session to facilitate interaction and team building among participants, and an opportunity to interact and present capabilities and concepts to government personnel in closed-door sidebar sessions.
[snip]
Areas of interest include new tools, technologies and methodologies to transform biology into an engineering practice and manufacturing platform, decouple biological design from fabrication and speed the biological design, build, test cycle. Examples include: design tools that span from high-level description to fabrication in cells; modular genetic parts that allow a combination of systems to be designed and reproducibly assembled; methods for developing and fine-tuning new genetic parts and systems; well-understood test platforms, "cell-like" systems and chassis that readily integrate new genetic designs in a predictable fashion; next generation DNA synthesis and assembly techniques; tools that allow for routine system characterization and debugging; and the integration of these capabilities for the rapid design and development of new biological systems and products, among others.....[/QUOTE]