The 2025 SFSU Biodesign Challenge Team Has Been Selected!

A panel of six jurors chose URBON to represent the School of Design in the competition this summer

Urbon employs living organisms that convert CO2 emissions in food resources and living structures, helping industries and society to envision a synergistic path to a more sustainable future, while supporting bull kelp restoration efforts through grazer suppression, public awareness, and local community engagement.

After an intense semester of lively synergy between scientific research, ecological restoration efforts, interinstitutional collaborations, fieldwork, and design development, eight student teams presented their proposals for supporting the recovery of Northern California’s bull kelp forests. 

The teams worked from the cutting-edge research and ongoing restoration efforts of the Nature Conservancy, lead by marine biologist Tristin McHugh, to understand the relationships between the main organisms involved in the coastal ecosystem of Mendocino and Fort Bragg, to then explore, experiment, and design solutions that would contribute to the current bull kelp recovery work.

On May 20^th, a panel of six jurors observed in amazement the scale, scope, depth and breadth of the projects proposed by both DES.410 Product Design classes, led by Assistant Professor Fernando Carvalho, and supported by Lecturer Faculty and kelp specialist Josie Iselin. The jurors provided feedback to each of the eight teams, based on their assessment of the scientific and creative merits of each project. The design teams and projects participating included:

DES.410-01 class:

The Bentho Box, Nicholas Rajan, Kia Hughes, Alexandria Rea, James Gamboa

Janus, Tasnim Saada, Anshuman Bhusal, Oussama Bouabsa, Jared Oelschlaegel, Nayo Lancaster

Seawolves and Witch Hats, Brom McCullough, Jonathn Blythe, Dani Llamas, Johnson Yu

Urbon, Huan Chang, Xin Zhang, Elliot Ostergaard, Luke Seeley

Urchin Cove, Calvin Witt, Damani Thompson, Bryan Nguyen-Son, Berkeley Skuratowicz

DES.410-02 class:

Algakit, Blane Asrat, Chloe Magalit, Anthony Gonzalez, Nicholas Almada

Starlock, Lucas Manou, Nicole Alulema, Antonio Lua, Jose Villasenor

Urch-Inn, Ricardo Calderon, Colin Hakl, Eli Pacciolla, Ore Adedeji

Urbon team during fieldtrip at Noyo Beach, in Fort Bragg, California. From left to right, SFSU design students, Huan Chang, Xin Zhang, Luke Seeley, and  Elliot Ostergaard).

The Fall 2025 class and the School of Design would like to extend a warmhearted thanks to the jury panel (see pictures and bios below) for their time, enthusiasm, support and expert feedback.

We would also like to acknowledge the financial support provided by the MillerKnoll Foundation award, the ICCE Service Learning Course Development grant, and Mr. Richard Ingalls’ donation. The funds provided by these institutions and individuals allowed fieldtrip, events, and travel arrangements that provided critical learning opportunities to our class cohort, and participation of the selected team in the 2025 Biodesign Challenge competition this coming summer.

JURY PANEL: External Jurors

Andrew Kim

Andrew Kim is the laboratory manager for the Sunflower Star Laboratory, a Monterey based non-profit currently raising and conducting critical research to aid in the conservation of Sunflower Sea Stars (Pycnopodia helianthoides), a keystone marine invertebrate and notable sea urchin predator. He was previously the lead aquaculture research technician at Moss Landing Marine Labs where he led the laboratory culturing and outplanting field work surrounding the bull kelp restoration work in Mendocino, CA for the Big River Restoration Project. Andrew has over 15 years of experience in aquaculture and animal husbandry in central California and more recently has spent a significant amount of time working in conservation aquaculture with a diversity of marine organisms including endangered white abalone, olympia oysters, echinoderm larvae, and seaweeds.

Matt Ferner

Matt is a coastal scientist and educator specializing in environmental monitoring and collaborative science. He currently directs the San Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, a partnership program based at SF State. He has led investigations of predator-prey dynamics, mechanisms of larval settlement, and physical processes underlying habitat stability, and he always strives to involve students in outdoor experiential learning.

Caroline Frentz

Caroline’s work with seaweed is rooted in both academic research and practical experience. She holds a BS in Environmental Science and a BA in Geography from San Francisco State, where she focused her studies on seaweed aquaculture. Today, she stays connected to the coast through foraging, ecological research, and a growing commitment to kelp forest resilience. She also works in the farmers’ market world, deepening her engagement with local food systems and seasonal cycles. Blending scientific understanding with hands-on involvement, Caroline is passionate about exploring sustainable and creative approaches to ocean stewardship.

JURY PANEL: Internal Jurors

Silvan Linn

Associate Professor Silvan Linn received a B.I.D. from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada working on the design of smart assistive medical devices, and later an M.S.D. from Arizona State University studying slow technology and new theories of human-machine interfaces. His research interests include advanced rapid prototyping techniques, local-scale manufacturing, and product development, new human-machine interface concepts, smart products, and embedded technologies. Prof Linn’s interests and expertise focus on advanced prototyping techniques, small-scale/DIY manufacturing and product development, novel human-machine interface concepts.

Josie Iselin

Josie Iselin is an artist, author, and book designer who has been telling seaweed and kelp stories for over a decade. Her two books An Ocean Garden: The Secret Life of Seaweed (2014, reprint 2023 OSU Press) and The Curious World of Seaweed (Heyday, 2019), tap her profound understanding of seaweed’s natural history and her deep connections within the seaweed science community. Both books have won the Tiffany Award for algal communications by the Phycological Society of America. Josie is co-director of the Above/Below campaign whose mission is to make the kelp forests of the oceans as understood as the forests on land. She is the lead author and content director of the campaign’s webstory, The Mysterious World of Bull Kelp, published in November 2023. Above/Below is embarking on the storytelling journey around the native West Coast Olympia oyster. She teaches in the School of Design at San Francisco State University, inspiring the integration of art and storytelling through portfolio design. Her work is on view at josieiselin.com. 

Fernando Carvalho

Assistant Professor Fernando Carvalho earned a Ph.D. in Design from Loughborough University (UK), and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Industrial Design from the University of Notre Dame (USA). He holds two BFA degrees –Visual Communication, and Product Design – from the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).​ His main professional and research projects include healthcare products, services, and systems, sustainable design and climate justice, and critical design pedagogy. Three years ago, Fernando spearheaded SFSU’s first participation in the Biodesign Challenge; since then, has been leading the School of Design’s Biodesign Challenge competition program, within his Product Design 2 Fall class schedule.