Making Communities: Public Science in the Time of COVID-19

On October 15, Georgetown Humanities, in collaboration with the Medical Humanities Initiative and the Maker Hub at Lauinger Library, co-organized “Making Communities: Public Science in the Time of COVID-19,” a conversation between Margaret Talbot, journalist and writer for The New Yorker, and Don Undeen, Manager of the Maker Hub In Lauinger Library, moderated by Lakshmi Krishnan (Director of the Medical Humanities Initiative at Georgetown), and also featuring undergrad Maker Hub staffer and EMT Luce Zhu (F’21).

The event explored the worlds of open science and maker culture, asking what happens when supply line production of essential goods and equipment is disrupted. Can public science offer solutions? Citizen scientists and community labs are developing everything from affordable insulin to low-cost, open-source medical supplies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, maker communities such as Georgetown’s Maker Hub began producing personal protective equipment (PPE) for local healthcare facilities. In a stimulating discussion, speakers addressed how these breakthrough barriers in scientific research, communication, and delivery of essential goods revolutionize communities.

You can watch the event here: