TABOO - TRANSGRESSION - TRANSCENDENCE

Anya Koehne is a junior at The University of Texas at Austin, known for her work in biochemistry and her innovative project that involves creating a probiotic pill designed to help digest plastic waste. She recently won a grand prize award for her project, which promotes sustainability and creativity.

Annan Zuo is a more-than-human researcher and architectural designer. He holds an MPhil in Architecture and Urban Design from the University of Cambridge and currently works at Foster + Partners in London. In October 2025, he will begin a PhD in Geography and the Environment at the University of Oxford. His research focuses on post-phenomenology, intersubjectivity, more-than-human architecture, landscape recovery, empathy, and care.

Annan’s work has been featured at international platforms including the Venice Biennale, Edinburgh Fringe, the Media Architecture Biennale, and exhibited in institutions such as the Shanghai Ming Contemporary Art Museum and Austin Unchained Gallery. He is the recipient of the 2024 BioDesign Challenge Grand Prize and has published with Springer Nature and Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research. He has presented at conferences across cybernetics, systems design, bio art, and architecture, including RSD12, ASC60, and ISEA 2025.

He was nominated for both the RIBA Bronze and Silver Medals and is an active member of the American Society for Cybernetics and the Eco-centric Future Lab.

Jiabao Li is an artist, assistant professor at The University of Texas at Austin, founding director of Ecocentric Future Lab, and visiting professor at Stanford. She creates works addressing climate change, multispecies futures, humane technology, and perceptions. Her mediums include wearable, robot, AR/VR, performance, scientific experiment, installation. In Jiabao’s TED Talk, she uncovered how technology mediates the way we perceive reality. Her recent solo exhibitions include “Chill Out: The Arctic Couldn’t”, “Progenitorial Hysteresis”, “Perception Omnifold”, and “Ecological Soup: Interspecies Encounters”. 

Jiabao is the recipient of numerous awards including Forbes China 30 Under 30, STARTS Prize, Falling Walls, Fast Company, and the Outstanding Instructor Award from Bio Design Challenge. Her work has been exhibited internationally, at MoMA, Venice Architecture Biennale, Ars Electronica, Exploratorium, Today Art Museum Biennial, SIGGRAPH, Milan and Dubai Design Week, ISEA, etc.  Her academic papers have been published in top conferences and journals including SIGGRAPH, CHI, IEEE VIS. Her work has been featured on Fast Company, Art Forum, Business Insider, Bloomberg, South China Morning Post, Domus, Yanko Design, Harvard Political Review, Leonardo. She is a member of Onassis Foundation and a Fellow at Ars Electronica Founding lab. She graduated from Harvard GSD with Distinction and thesis award.