News > October 11, 2007

By Jordan Brewster | Staff writer

When they first registered for assistant professor of physics Jed Macosko’s First Year Seminar “Harnessing Life’s Molecular Machines: From AIDS Tests to Hydrogen Cars” last year, the six sophomores behind BioBotz had no idea what was in store for them.

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These characters, intended to teach children about biology, were created by sutdents in a First Year Seminar.

Inspired by a group project conducted in Macosko’s class, the students decided to create cartoon figures based on parts of molecular biology, such as amino-acids.

BioBotz are caricatures of “life’s molecular machines” that operate inside of cells.

The central aim behind the company is to get kids interested in molecular biology and to help them learn while simultaneoulsy having fun, thus not focusing on the fact that they are actually learning.

Plans for the future of the company include story books, television programs and video games featuring the BioBotz.

During the semester, Macosko put his FYS students into groups of three to complete different projects. Along with another student, sophomores Mike Metzmaker and Sarah Branson were put together, and BioBotz was first envisioned.

Encouraged by Macosko, the BioBotz project went into full swing.

When the other member of the group had to drop out because he could not find the time, Metzmaker and Branson opened their project up to the rest of the class.

They were soon joined with the rest of the BioBotz crew: sophomores Ashley Edwards, Michael Epstein, Jane Lee and Elizabeth Newman.

The BioBotz idea stood out to Macosko because of its originality.

“Many other people are working on devices that ‘Harness Life’s Molecular Machine,’” Macosko said, “but no one is trying to make caricatures that will appeal to young people and help them learn the functions of these amazing nanomachines.”

As the semester ended, the group decided to keep in touch over the summer and make their ideas a reality.

They started to develop storylines and characters and returned to the university ready to work.

They got in touch with the Center for Design Innovation, which is a partnership of Winston-Salem State University and North Carolina School of Design, and have developed the look of some of the characters.

Currently the young entrepreneurs are working on the beginnings of a Web site and making grant proposals.

One grant proposal in particular that they are looking into is the MacArthur Grant.

The MacArthur Grant awards $250,000 to ideas that integrate the level of information exchanged in Web sites such as myspace.com and learning, which explains why the group is looking into creating a Web site.

If BioBotz wins this grant, they will have a pilot video game by December 2008.

If they do not receive the grant, however, they will most likely begin working on the children’s book, also to be finished by December 2008.

“Basically, we are on the brink of being either a really big company or just being something small,” Branson said.

The video game would be marketed towards 7th and 8th graders, while the story book and television show would be for slightly younger kids.

But the group wants to avoid the classroom.

“We want to get kids interested in this stuff without knowing that they are learning,” Metzmaker said. “We want them to have fun.”

Because the BioBotz Company was founded by college students, they believe they can bring something to the molecular biology learning market that adults cannot.

“Adults can’t do the same thing,” Metzmaker said.

“Our target audience is 8th graders. We were 8th graders five years ago; we know a lot better than a Harvard teacher does about what these kids want.”

But there are downsides of being so young, and the students don’t want their project to get ripped from their hands.

But they aren’t too worried.

In the group of six, four are pre-med, one plans on being a marine biologist and the other is on the pre-law track.

“We know more about cells then the animators do,” Metzmaker said.

Still, they can’t be too careful. Macosko is working with the Wake Forest School of Law to find a lawyer for the group.

Unfortunately, the fact that they are college students makes them very good at procrastination.

“Every once in a while we get loaded with work,” Metzmaker said, “which usually comes around the time we already have a lot of Work Forest work.”

But, they explain, because it is a team thing, it makes it harder to stop.

They don’t want to let down their new friends or their teacher, and they believe in their project.

“It’s hard work, but we wouldn’t want to do it unless we thought it was interesting and worthwhile,” Metzmaker said.