2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The global demand for protein and the environmental challenges of traditional agriculture are driving the growth of cellular agriculture, which uses tissue engineering techniques to grow food from cells in bioreactors. This multidisciplinary field integrates biomedical engineering, nutrition, animal science, and ethics, providing an exciting context for pre-college students to explore engineering and related careers.

Tufts University is researching growth methods, media, scaffolding, environmental impact, consumer acceptance, and scalability in cellular agriculture. The grant also supports educational outreach, including three free activity guides for middle and high school students:
---Help & Harm - Guide 1 explores the potential benefits and harms of this new engineered technology through research and consequence mapping.
---Sensory analysis - Guide 2 delves into the engineering of taste with fat and protein.It guides students through a Sensory Analysis activity using vegan nugget products.
---Which Line Is it? - Guide 3 introduces students to the image processing tools and analysis methods used by biomedical engineering researchers to identify promising cell lines for further development.