I was part of an undergrad research project developing a protocol to turn algae biowaste (algae scraped off of algal turf scrubbers, a tool used to remediate eutrophication aka fertilizer pollution from bodies of water) into a moldable ceramic product as a sustainable clay alternative or supplement. I'm a biologist, my research professor was a biologist, and we collaborated with a ceramics professor and one of her undergrads.
Dudes, I am not joking when I say that the science the ceramics undergrad did was VASTLY more intensive and rigorous than what I, the "real" scientist was doing. I was essentially playing with sludge, figuring out which processing method (diluting and blending it, then pouring into a plaster mold, or dehydrating, powderizing, and reconstituting) was most efficient and made the best product for my purposes (I wanted to make substrate for oyster larval settlement for oyster bed restoration). The ceramics undergrad was taking the products I made (the powder or the play-doh-like reconstituted sludge) and testing what firing and glazing methods worked well with it. She also mixed it with locally sourced clay (that she located and harvested herself) as a way to bulk up the volume but still keep the properties of the natural clay. She was manipulating the ratio of algae to clay, using different amounts of algae powder as a glaze on natural clay, testing different firing methods/temperatures and had replicates of everything she was doing. She took meticulous notes. She formed HYPOTHESES and PREDICTIONS based on the chemistry of the algae (something about the silica in diatom shells and high salt content, I think) and evaluated them with her results. I was in awe of her. Art IS science and art and other sciences need each other. We don't make progress as a civilization by keeping all of our innovations isolated. When we cross those boundaries and make new connections is when we discover greatness.
Here are some of the sculptures made by our faculty mentors and the ceramics undergrad! Sadly we ran out of algae biomass before I was able to attempt sculpting something myself.
You can read our publication (where the figures came from) for free if you're interested! There's also an article about the ATS system where we got the algae from and what those scientists hope to do with it (make biofuel!)
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