The CSSM is proud to announce that our first visiting Fellow has arrived, Aman Asif! Aman’s research focuses on photosynthetic marine microbes like cyanobacteria and microalgae, as well as how scientific knowledge production methods influence human interactions with marine microbes. Marine microbes are gaining increased attention in the scientific community through the sustainability discourse around changes in ocean health (eutrophication) and as part of potential carbon mitigation strategies (biotechnology).
During her visiting fellowship at the CSSM, Aman will be conducting interviews with practitioners and researchers whose work connects with marine microbes and the Baltic Sea in order to better understand the role that marine microbes play in planetary wellbeing. She is particularly interested in learning about individual experiences of researchers and how their interactions with marine microbes have informed, developed, or changed their relationships with microbes. Aman’s study also entails looking into how creative methodologies and techniques can be developed to facilitate understanding human-microbe relations. She intends to hold a workshop at/with the CSSM to test approaches for learning more about the complex interactions between humans and photosynthetic microbes.
She completed her Masters at Aalto University, Finland, in the department of Creative Sustainability. Her MA thesis addressed human-to-algal relations through the creative practice of Bioart. When not at the CSSM, Aman is a multidisciplinary designer and senior lecturer at Beaconhouse National University (BNU), School of Visual Arts and Design (SVAD) in Lahore.
Aman will be here for three months, until late April. You can find more about Aman here.
