Individual Final Project (Draft)
Final Project Name: Project Z Freeze
Final Project Description: Project Z Freeze aims to address limitations in current data center and general computing phase-change cooling strategies by developing an alternative system based on engineered variants of the ice-nucleating protein InaZ, designed to reliably initiate freezing at higher subzero temperatures. Through computational design, sequence optimization, and structural evaluation, this project establishes a predictive framework to rank variants for functional feasibility and heterologous expression. Ultimately, this work aims to enable programmable control of phase transitions in high-performance thermal management systems.
Aim 1: The first aim of my final project is to design and validate a DNA construct encoding an InaZ-derived ice nucleation protein optimized for expression in E. coli by utilizing codon optimization tools, modular plasmid design, and computational analysis of protein size and stability.
Aim 2: The second aim is to develop a computational evaluation framework to compare InaZ variants based on predicted expression efficiency, sequence stability, and structural feasibility, enabling informed selection of constructs for experimental implementation.
Aim 3: The third aim is to extend this framework into a generalized multi-parameter optimization platform capable of designing and ranking biological systems for controlled phase-transition applications and related engineering contexts.
Potential Companies: Asimov (Kernel), Gingko Bioworks, and Twist Biosciences
Below is an alternative presentation design that was offered via Gemini via Google Slides through enhance feature. It look neat, but I ultimately did not adopt it.
Here’s the prompt: “Redesign this slide to most effectively communicate the content. Prefer well structured visual layouts.”
