2014 - 2021 selected works
PORTFOLIO Li Lok Yee, Maria Biologist | Maker | Educator
_about
_experience & education
Hi, I’m Maria.
City University of Hong Kong
2013 - 2016
In my undergraduate study, I focus on studying molecular biology and genetics. I also studied ecology, biochemistry, animal and plant physiology. Here I was trained with system thinking and professional scientific research practices.
iGEM Competition
2014
In this 6 months international synthetic biology competition, I worked with a team of biologists and bioengineering students to engineering an E.coil that converts excess body fat to a beneficial fatty acid.
DIY BIO Hong Kong
2016 - 2020
I co-founded DIY BIO Hong Kong, a non-profit community lab focused on biology projects and runs biotechnology workshops for youths and community members. The goal is to promote the democratization of biotechnology.
MakerBay
2016 - 2021
Working in a Hong Kong-based makerspace to design impact making curriculum for local schools and youth centers. Here, I also engaged in social design projects employing design thinking to tackle social and environmental issues.
_profile I am a Biologist, Maker and Educator aim to experimenting with ways to empower the community with creative confidence to maximize a positive social and environmental impact. I am passionate about impact innovation education, citizen science, and design for sustainable futures.
_skills woodwork +852 9881 4053 marialilokyee@gmail.com www.marialilokyee.com
sewing laser cutting 3D printing
synthetic biology Pr premiere pro
illustrator electronics
_contents
02
03
04
05
Bioplastic TinkerLab
Fit.coli
Sea of Data Adventure
Parcours Feau'lies: NumerO
Touch Tung O!
#material_research
#synthetic_biology
#citizen_science
#design_for_social _innovation
#community_design
01
Bioplastic TinkerLab A biomaterial research that explores alternative ways to produce a circular material model that is biophilic and sustainable.
_what
_why
_when _who
This is a self-initiated project which I did with the DIY BIO HK community. The project aims to develop biophilic materials that are more sustainable and to explore circular material models that create less waste. A bioplastic material collection, and a bag made with bioplastic were produced in this project. The experience is also shared with a group of undergraduate students in a HKU Design+ lecture. During the time I was a Biology undergraduate, I watched a video about the great pacific garbage patch in the ocean, I was shocked to learn about how serious the plastic waste pollution is, and how it adversely impacts our ecosystem. Later when I worked in a maker space, I saw many wastes from courier packaging, scrapped laser cut and 3D printing materials everyday. It stimulated me to start exploring bio-inspired materials that are sustainable. Sept 2020 (ongoing) self-initiated community project
maria li // portfolio
#do-it-together-science #diybio #material #lasercut #textile
Land+Civilization Composition
_development
1
Do-It-Together Science Engaged DIY BIO community members to explore biomaterials in regular meetups.
2
Experiment On Recipes We try out different recipes of composite biomaterial, including carbohydrate-based, alginate and kombucha.
3
4
Property Test
Bag Making
Flexibility, flammability and solubility tests are conducted.
A handbag is made with bioplastic to demonstrate the possible applications.
_outcomes
Land+Civilization Composition
_what’s next?
maria li // portfolio
1
2 3
1. Foldable totebag pattern which does not need any sewing. 2. Solubility test of bioplastic samples. 3. Biomaterial lecture in HKU.
Through experimenting with carbohydrate-based bioplastic, I have a deeper understanding of the properties, potential applications, and limitations of this material. It can be a good material for temporary usage, such as food packaging. But it is not a suitable material for providing as a structural support. So next step, I will investigate other options in bio-inspired materials that is durable and can provide a strong structural support.
02 Fit. coli A genetically modified probiotic drink that keeps you slim and healthy.
_what
Fit.coli is a genetically engineered bacteria that serves the purpose of helping obese people lose weight and also protect their cadiovascular vessels. Obesity has now reached epidemic proportions worldwide, which has serious consequences because obesity is associated with various chronic human diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. With the aim to protect oneself against obesity and debilitating diseases caused by a high-fat diet, me and my team adopted a synthetic biology approach to design an Escherichia coli strain (called Fit. Coli) that performs a new function of converting excess fat in human guts into a-linolenic acid (ALA), and later on converting to DHA (an omega-3-fatty acid) in the human gut, which is well known to have many positive health benefits. Project wiki site: http://2014.igem.org/Team:CityU_HK
_when _who _role
Jul - Nov 2014 2014 CityU iGEM Team biobrick construction, wiki page design, presenter #SyntheticBiology #GeneticallyEngineeredEscherichia coli
_concept One of the speculated applications of Fit.coli is a probiotic drink for obese people.
1. Drink Synthetic Fit.coli bacteria are ingested as a probiotic drink.
2. Colonise Colonising the gut, the Fit.coli convert excess fat in the gut to beneficial fatty acid (ALA), which helping obese people lose weight and also protect their cadiovascular vessels.
_process & outcomes
maria li // portfolio
Land+Civilization Composition
1 2 3 4
-
Gene assemble scheme diagram. Cloning is performed in a wet lab throughout summer. Selecting genetic engineered E.coli on antibiotic petri dishes. We “go beyond the lab” and situated our work in a social and environmental context by introducing how synthetic biology works and had discussion about the biosafety, social and economic and ethical concerns related to our project with high school students. 5 - Three BioBrick − custom sequences of DNA − were developed to convert excess fat into fatty acid ALA through a cascade of metabolic pathways. 6 - Our team received a gold medal at the annual iGEM competition for our effort.
03
Sea of Data Adventure a citizen science faire _what
Citizen Science Faire 2017: "Sea of Data Adventure" is the first-ever citizen science faire in Hong Kong exhibited at PMQ. This is also the first exhibition I curated. The faire featured citizen science projects in Hong Kong, hands-on workshops and public talks by citizen scientists.
_why
Why citizen science? We are actually living in a sea of data air quality data, water quality data, biodiversity data and health data. We aim to educate the general public that we as citizens can also contribute to create a better environment and a more just society by simply gathering data and sharing the findings.
_when
Jul - Aug 2017
_who
Team Project
_role
Curation, project development, exhibitors management, creating contracts, workshop design, developing timelines and schedules, overseeing fabrication and production #CitizenScience #3Dmodeling #electronics #woodwork #bamboo Video of event highlights: https://youtu.be/-w2M76YImCw
_concepts & process
Step 1 - Design sketch
Step 2 - 3D Model
maria li // portfolio
Based on the “sea of data Modelling the “wave” installaadventure” theme, we designed tion and the overall floorplan in a “wave” top to let visitors a 3D model using Rhino. immerse themselves in the “sea of data”.
After deciding on the core message of the faire, main elements of user experience as well as the tangible interactive objects are brainstormed and documented in a moodboard.
Step 3 - Plan workshops
Step 4 - Production
Designing hands-on workshops in making air quality box, algae rack, diy microscope, radioactivity mapping and ocean trash tracker.
Fabricating the installations including the Hong Kong Coastal Waste Map, Algae Tower, and the “wave” top.
_outcomes
1a 1b
2 3
1a, 1b. Raise awareness on air quality through hands-on air quality box making workshops. We bring it beyond the faire by collaborating with Clean Air Network to develop a NO2 sensor to collect real time road side air quality data to a wider audience. 2. Curated exhibitions and forum on topics about include air quality monitoring, DNA barcoding biodiversity, ocean trash tracking and freshwater watch. Local and overseas speakers were invited to speak about different citizen science projects. 3. Visitors could build and bring home a DIY algae rack in the workshop.
04 Parcours Feau'lies: NumerO How might we design a way to engage citizens to clean the canal in a playful way? _what
Parcours Feauʼlies: NumerO is a collection of water playground games aimed to raise awareness to protect the canal and engage citizens to build closer relationships with the canal in a playful way. The project was initiated during the time I joined a week-long hackathon in Paris. We found that most people live in Paris think the river is not clean and it's just mainly for transportation. Actually we think our canal has much more meaning to us. In order to start the conversation with the public, we prototyped one of the water playground games - a canal cleaning frisbee accompanied by a mobile app.
_when
May 2019
_who
Team project
_role
Frisbee deisgn and prototype, frication of the same station
maria li // portfolio
#DesignThinking #RapidPrototype #LaserCutting #woodwork #sewing
During our bike trip, we observed how people interact with the canal.
Land+Civilization Composition
_design process
Understand Through conducting water quality tests and observing how local people interact with the canal to understand people's relationship with the canal.
Define We also brainstormed problems of the canal, and did online research on the science of measuring the health of a freshwater body.
Ideate Group brainstorm, sketches and paper prototypes are made and presented to collect feedback from other groups and communities from the makerspace.
Prototype 1:1 prototypes of the frisbee were made by laser cutting and sewing. Several iterations and tests were made. The playstation was finished with PVC piping system and woodwork.
On-site Test Invite passerby including individuals and families to test the effectiveness in raising awareness and user experience. Feedbacks are collected for improvement.
Land+Civilization Composition
_prototype We went through 4 iterations in the prototype stage. In prototype 1, a long wooden stick with mesh is made. We found that the stick is too heavy and not long enough to reach the waste further away from the canal bank. So we think of another way to collect the waste. In prototype 2, we got inspiration from frisbee. A styrofoam with metal rings was made. The result was not satisfying as trash will escape from the bottom.
In prototype 3, we added a fabric mesh to our “frisbee”. Our frisbee has 3 layers, the weight is embedded in the middle layer. The 3 layers are fastened with nuts and bolts. In prototype 4, as prototype 3 (with full mesh) does not work in bringing trash back, we cut the mesh into half to make a shield for carrying trash back. And it works!
maria li // portfolio
_how it works?
numerO 3 La roue colorée numerO 2 La loupe
numerO 1 L’épuisette
1. Encounter
2. Play
3. Share
Citizens can find different Playstations (i.e. Water Frisbee, Magnifying Glass, The Colored Wheel) along the canal.
You can play individually or play with friends and family. The ground rule here is to have fun!
Input the result to the collective water map via the water playground app.
Entertained
Observer _Water Playground App
Awareness Building Loop The water playground game can directly or indirectly influence players and observers respectively. Players have fun and learn about the health and related environmental issues of the canal through our games, whereas observers are benefited by a cleaner canal, get entertained and be more aware of water quality monitoring.
Player
Raise awareness Learn
The mobile app lets players input their result (i.e. how many and the type of trash they collected) to an open-source database and display on an online Map. Citizens can check the water quality such as pH, Nitrate concentration, and turbidity of the canal in this map, which is added by other game players. The app also shows educational information about environmental issues related to water after the player completes the game. App mockup:
Land+Civilization Composition
maria li // portfolio
_test & engage
At the end, we brought our canal cleaning frisbee game station to exhibit along the Saint-Martin Canal. We invited passersby to play the game and we collected feedback from them.
05 Tung Tung O! a revitalisation research project by design thinking process.
_what
The key objective of this project is to facilitate the Sustainable Lantau Officeʼs (SLO) understanding of the sentiment of the key stakeholders on revitalisation of Tung O Ancient Trail and the nearby villages through deploying Design Thinking approach, with a view to rebuilding an identity of the site and revitalising the area.
_why
From the 2017 Hong Kong Policy Address, it has also been the governmentʼs intend to revitalise and conserve rural environments so that the ecology and culture of rural areas and old villages can be sustainably developed. With a vision to respond to Hong Kong citizensʼ growing demand for a balance of urban and rural lifestyles, SLO aims to rethink the development on Lantau Island. Thus, this projectʼs study of revitalisation for Tung O Ancient Trail will also nest into the strategic development of Lantau, Hong Kong and beyond.
_when
Feb 2020 - Feb 2021
_who
HKSAR Sustainable Lantau Office (client), Hong Kong Design Center (partner), Land+Civilization Composition (partner), MakerBay
_role
My role in this project is to employ design thinking to design and carry out engagement activities as one of the main facilitators and content creator.
#designthinking #human-centered #co-design #revitalization #social-design #laser-cut @touch.tung.o @touch.tung.o
_process & methodology Understand
Activate
Co-create
Share & Re-activate
Revitalization Strategy
Work in progress. The finalised report will be published on government website upon completion.
Identify stakeholders
Oral history interviews
Online workshop
Expedition
Vision drawing
Scenario building
maria li // portfolio
Project team identify stakeholders and their relationships from field trips.
Experts from various fields such as botanists, landscape architects, designers, social workers and cultural studies experts were invited to explore the trail and make a collective map of the characteristics of the trail.
Stories and hidden tales were collected through interviews with villagers.
Villagers, experts from different fields and trail users were invited to imagine the “What if?” future of the trail by drawing out their visions with the help of the co-design toolkit.
Experts and villagers are invited to brainstorm revitalisation ideas online during COVID-19.
Three revitalization scenarios were illustrated and modelled based on previous findings. We brought the scenario models to villagers, kids and trail users to see what do they anticipate and identify possible concerns.
Prototype building
Co-create the prototypes with villagers using simple tools.
Prototype testing
Prototypes were put on-site to collect feedback from locals and trail users.
Team discussion
Project team organised the findings from the engagement activities to consolidate design guidelines and possible themes for revitalization of the trail, which will put in the final report.
_outcomes
_design tools Collective mapping Participants were invited to draw out an object, a place or a person they encountered on the trail that left the strongest impression. The drawings were pinned up for public display and have successfully sparked villagersʼ attention and interest towards the project.
Co-design toolkit This exercise sets the scene (line drawings) for discussion and with the "actors" (as stickers) provided, it enables participants to use visual aids to play out their imaginations, and further elaborate their hidden thoughts when some elements were not provided.
8 persona profiles are generalised in order to show a clear comprehensive picture of the major stakeholders in the trail for generating revitalisation strategies and recommendations in the latter part of the study.
Village profiles illustrate the consolidated information of demographic compositions and environmental attributes of the villages.
A village story map and stamps is designed based on the stories collected from oral histories. It becomes a tool to pass on the memories to the next generation.
Revitalisation thematic maps are consolidated into three proposals: Culture & History Learning Hub, Coastal Ecology Rediscovery, and Sustainable Rural Economy.
User journey map A user journey map is constructed after the shadowing session to visualise the spatial movement, emotional pattern, and pain points of the shadowed villager.
Scenario building models The project team bought a 3D terrain model and “Lego” blocks to visualize the programs and interventions of the 3 rough proposals (consolidated findings from Online Workshops). Participants were encouraged to critique & modify the proposals, these changes were recorded, and from which the research team later obtained rough ideas of Dos and Dontʼs.
_learning & reflection My biggest lesson learned is trust building between stakeholders and the project team is a vital step in engaging the locals and getting honest feedback, which often leads to insights. Especially in a social design project, we are designing for people, so people should always be our first priority. In addition, I have a deeper understanding of Hong Kong history and culture, and rediscover the beauty of Hong Kong countryside.
The next big things will be a lot of small things.
maria li // portfolio