Victor de Lorenzo, chemist and Professor of Research in the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), where he currently heads the Laboratory of Environmental Synthetic Biology at the National Center for Biotechnology, has been awarded the Theodore von Kármán Fellowship by RWTH Aachen University.
Professor Lars Blank (Chair of Applied Microbiology) and KHK c:o/re director Professor Gabriele Gramelsberger jointly applied for the fellowship. The fellowship thus strengthens interdisciplinary cooperation in the field of biotechnology.
The fellowship enables Victor de Lorenzo to spend two weeks at the Käte Hamburger Kolleg: Cultures of Research (c:o/re) at RWTH Aachen University, where he will work on the project “Synthetic Biology: From Domination of the Natural World to Partnership and Negotiation”. This project proposes to explore synthetic biology not only as a tool for control, but also as a means to reimagine our interactions with the microbial world. Drawing parallels with the changing perception of animals in Western societies – from resources to sentient beings – it argues for developing a new epistemology for microbes, recognizing their agency and evolutionary narratives. By integrating science, philosophy, and art, this project seeks to anticipate and shape a new ethic of coexistence, negotiation, and compromise with the microbial world.
To present the outcomes of this fellowship, Victor de Lorenzo will give a public university lecture entitled “Design Meets Evolution: Theory and Practice” on May 13, 2025, from 5 to 6.30 pm, at the KHK c:o/re, Theaterstr. 75. For further information and registration, please have a look at the event here.
RWTH Kármán-Fellowships are funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Ministry of Culture and Science of the German State of North Rhine Westphalia (MKW) under the Excellence Strategy of the Federal Government and the Länder.
