Design Meets Evolution: Theory and Practice – Theodore von Kármán Lecture with Victor de Lorenzo

Abstract:

The prevailing view of biological evolution is not unlike bricolage/pastiche/tinkering—in sharp contrast with rational engineering. Yet, different paths often lead to solutions that coincide or converge whether they emerge from naturally-occurring evolution or rationally designed. Such a conjunction—often presented as a mere anecdote— in fact reveals the ability of biological systems to physically explore solution spaces and gravitate towards information-rich attractors, which can be found through different routes. The consequences of this notion for bioengineering are remarkable, as it enables solutions to multi-objective optimization challenges not yet amenable to all-rational approaches. The ensuing technical question is how to bring about hyper-diversification not only of genomic sequences but also environmental parameters for securing the desired performance of a given synthetic device. This issue will be illustrated with a number of practical cases where naturally-occurring or artificially enhanced variability was key to find ideal outcomes to otherwise intractable design hitches of interest for industrial and environmental biotechnology.

If you would like to attend, please register with events@khk.rwth-aachen.de.