Julia Rijssenbeek

Julia has a background in Philosophy of Economics (Erasmus University) and is currently conducting PhD research in Philosophy of Technology at Wageningen University focusing on synthetic biology. She researches the conceptual shifts in thinking about biological matter and lifeforms that the field brings about and its contribution to a bio-based future. Her research is part of the Gravitation Program Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies (ESDiT). During her research stay at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University, she applied the Collaborative Ethics framework together with Dr. Jeantine Lunshof. For the Bio Art & Design award, she collaborates with artists and designers in their work.

Julia is also a researcher at FreedomLab, a think tank using scenario methods to imagine alternative futures, using science fiction, popular culture, historical analyses and philosophy in order to inform decision makers in public and private institutions. Her research there focuses on sustainable and technological transitions, as well as the geopolitics of food systems.