STARTS (S+T+ARTS – Innovation at the Nexus of Science, Technology, and the ARTS) is an initiative of the European Commission to foster alliances of technology and artistic practice. The focus is on people and projects that contribute to mastering the social, ecological and economic challenges faced by the European continent.

A yearly competition is held to single out innovative projects with the potential to make a significant impact on economic and social innovation. The two STARTS prizewinners each receive €20,000 and are prominently featured at Ars Electronica, BOZAR and Waag.

Ling’s project, Design by Decay, Decay by Design is a series of artifacts that exhibit designed decay by combining two technologies: Interatomic Coulombic decay (ICT) and biotechnology. The research and resulting artifacts were created as part of Ling’s 2019 Ginkgo Bioworks Creative Residency on how to design a world without waste.