8 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY MARCH 5-11, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com 831 Lupita Arroyo and Andrea Sanchez hover over a laptop inside a room at One Main Street in downtown Salinas on a recent Thursday afternoon, deep in troubleshooting mode. The laptop is connected to a large machine that looks like a 3D printer. But this machine is actually an Opentrons OT-2, a liquid-handling robot that is used in the realm of biotechnology. The arm of the robot dispenses liquid in the tiniest of vials in a precise but rapid manner. The screen on the laptop is filled with code, but Arroyo and Sanchez expertly comb through it, looking for one bit that is preventing the robot from doing what the two want it to do. The OT-2 is designed to automate processes that include sampling genetic material for the presence of the virus that causes Covid-19 and other experiments that require control of small quantities of liquids—complicated stuff for the average person. Here, though, it just needs to do something much simpler (at least in theory): pour liquid in the shape of the sun and an oyster shell. It’s week three of 14 for “How to Grow (Almost) Anything,” a class by the MIT Media Lab and taught concurrently throughout the world. Budding and experienced bio-enthusiasts alike tune in to weekly classes via Zoom and take what they’ve learned to complete projects at in-person labs in their communities. The Hartnell College Foundation is the newest “node” for the class, meaning it hosts a lab for students to use. It is just one of two in California. Ana Ibarra-Castro, director of K-12 STEAM Programs for the Hartnell College Foundation, says the number of local students participating may be small (five), but this class serves as a starting-off point to grow opportunities in the local biotech space in the near future. “There’s just so much in almost every industry that you could incorporate a biotech perspective,” she says. Being in Salinas, the agriculture industry is one where advances in biotechnology can have a major impact, such as engineering crops to be resistant to certain pests. Ibarra-Castro says the goal is to tailor future classes to the needs of the local community. “We’re known as the Salad Bowl of the World, and a lot of things are changing in agriculture, from a labor-intense industry to a mechanized industry,” she says. “One of the greatest impacts some of these technologies will have will be in agriculture.” The class was made possible locally thanks to Hartnell College receiving a workforce development grant from BioMADE, a nationwide organization that focuses on growing the workforce around biomanufacturing. Ibarra-Castro worked with MIT Media Lab professor David Kong on the grant application to BioMADE. Kong, who has been conducting the class for a number of years, has sought to expand its reach around the world through the “nodes.” Starting off with just students from MIT and Harvard, there’s now more than 1,000 students who participate globally. The class, which started in earnest the week of Feb. 3, runs through May 5 with a different topic each week, such as protein design, lab automation, building genomes and more. Students are able to tap into an expansive knowledge base of professors and teaching assistants around the world, each with their own areas of expertise. Ibarra-Castro is hopeful that such educational opportunities in biotechnology attract younger students, including those in middle and high school (noting one of the local students in the current class is in high school). With equipment costs being a significant barrier, accessibility is key to expanding the workforce. Such equipment can easily cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, Ibarra-Castro says, pointing to the relative affordability of the OT-2 robot, which can cost around $5,000 on the used market. The plan is to expand the lab at One Main Street and open it up to the broader community with various workshops and open lab dates. “We’re very interested in exploring the intersection of the industry we live in with what we offer here at the college,” she says. “A lot of things are changing, and we need to make sure we are looking at those changes and what it means for our local community and the opportunities that lie ahead.” Lab Work A worldwide biotech class has a presence in Salinas, teaching students about a growing field. By Erik Chalhoub “One of the greatest impacts…will be in agriculture.” TALES FROM THE AREA CODE DANIEL DREIFUSS Lupita Arroyo (left) and Andrea Sanchez work on programming an Opentrons OT-2 robot during a lab in Salinas for a 14-week-long biotech class. The students are joining others throughout the world in completing assignments. SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 2026 MONTEREY CONFERENCE CENTER WITH MASTER OF CEREMONIES DAN GREEN, KSBW ACTION NEWS 8 ANCHOR Annual Awards Dinner GET TICKETS! montereychamber.com In CelebrationOf: 2025 Citizens of the Year Kelli Uldall and Steve Snider Carmel Magazine 2025 Ruth Vreeland Memorial Public Official of the Year Robin McCrae Community Human Services 2025 Robert C. Littlefield Award for Lifetime Achievement Keith Severson GraniteRock 2025 Community Impact Award Dan Baldwin Community Foundation for Monterey County Business of the Year Award To Be Announced During the Event PRESENTED BY
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