Joy Zhang

May was a milestone month as we officially set Futuring Biological Commons—our ARIA-funded project—into motion. The turnaround for postdoc recruitment was incredibly tight, but we were so lucky to have a fantastic group of candidates apply. The interviews were full-on, but genuinely such a pleasure. I’m absolutely thrilled that Oliver and Matthew will be joining the team. They won’t officially start for a few more weeks, but I already know they’ll bring great energy, fresh perspectives, and a generous dose of curiosity to the work ahead.

I also had the pleasure of attending the ARIA Summit in London. It’s clear that the event set out to cultivate a shared sense of identity among ARIA-funded researchers—or “ARIA Creators”—and I think it’s fair to say it succeeded. That spirit of community only deepened at the Synthetic Plants Programme kickoff the following week in Didcot, where I was thrilled to finally meet the other eight research teams in person. It was also a wonderful chance to catch up with Lynn, Liz, and Katie, who all powered through punishing travel schedules to be there and contribute. And yes—true to form—we even voted on a sub-name for synthetic plant creators: we’re officially calling ourselves the Spuddies!

Days later, the Synthetic Plants Programme was officially announced by ARIA-

To borrow a line from the Futuring Biological Commons website:
Here’s to a greener, smarter, and more resilient future—one potato at a time.