Research Experiences for Undergraduates

The International Genetically Modified Machines (iGEM) competition is an experiential learning program that brings together teams of high school, undergraduate, and graduate students from around the world to learn over the course of a summer how to build biological systems from standard, interchangeable parts. (See http://2008.igem.org/Main_Page) At the end of the summer, each team travels to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to interact with other teams and share their results in a juried competition at the iGEM Jamboree. The NSF-funded Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center (SynBERC), based at the University of California at Berkeley (UC Berkeley), is a key supporter of the iGEM Jamboree financially, and in terms of leadership and assessment of the program. (The director of iGEM, MIT professor Randy Rettberg, is a SynBERC researcher.)

The UC Berkeley team (above) won the gold medal award at the 2008 iGEM competition in the software tool category, and was also a finalist in the experimental category. UC Berkeley is the home of NSF-funded Synthetic Biology Engineering Research Center.

The iGEM competition is growing rapidly, in 2008 hosting 84 teams from 21 countries, with more than 800 student participants. Over the course of a weekend, teams composed of students from all over the world come together to share their passion for synthetic biology. The teams that presented at the Jamboree in November 2008 applied innovative approaches to a diversity of areas-from foundational advances to applications of synthetic biology in environmental, food, and health sciences. Several of the top teams were from SynBERC partner institutions, including the University of California at San Francisco, UC Berkeley, and Harvard University. UC Berkeley’s Clonebots team won a gold medal and was a finalist in the overall competition. The UC Berkeley Tools team won gold for “Best Software Tool.” Harvard was a gold-medal finalist in the “Best Food or Energy Project” category. UCSF took bronze for a project in the “Best New Application” area.

This year’s iGEM competition was remarkable for the larger-than-usual participation of high school students-a trend that SynBERC has spearheaded-which shows how the engineering focus of synthetic biology can excite students at all levels of science education. Also, several teams initiated international student exchange programs, for example with students in China and Slovenia, strengthening the program’s spirit of international collaboration.

Primary Strategic Outcome Goal:
K-12 Education
Undergraduate Education and Undergraduate Student Research
Graduate Education and Graduate Student Research
International Research Experiences for Undergraduate & Graduate Students

In terms of intellectual merit, why is this outcome notable and/or important?
This is a highly innovative education program that brings together teams of high school, undergraduate, and graduate students from around the world to “learn by doing” about one of the most promising and potentially high-impact new fields of science and engineering.


In terms of  broader impacts , why is this outcome notable and/or important?
Merit Review Broader Impacts Criterion: Representative Activities, July 2007
The program involves students from precollege through graduate school in a highly collaborative, team-based learning activity that requires a sophisticated understanding of recent research advances in an emerging field. A broad diversity of students are involved, representing female and minority students as well as students from many countries around the world. The result is a rapidly growing network of students in the U.S. and elsewhere who are excited and knowledgeable about further education and research in this important field, one that has major potential benefits in medicine and other areas.


Does this highlight represent transformative or potentially transformative research?  If so, please explain why. For more information, see  Report to Congress: Transformative Research at the National Science Foundation, April 16, 2008
No


Does this highlight represent Broadening Participation?  If so, please explain why.
For more information, see  Broadening Participation at the National Science Foundation: A Framework for Action
Yes
Every Engineering Research Center involves the participation of several institutions across the U.S., as well as a diverse faculty and student body. iGEM is certainly an example of this, leveraged even farther by the participation of universities and other institutions worldwide.


Are there existing or potential societal benefits of this research? It is important for NSF to be able to provide examples of NSF-supported research that have societal benefits, including benefits to the U.S. economy.
For more information, see  Excerpt from Merit Review Broader Impacts Criterion: Representative Activities, July 2007
Yes
iGEM is creating a rapidly growing network of students in the U.S. and elsewhere who are excited and knowledgeable about further education and research in this important field, one that has major potential benefits in medicine, environmental protection, and other areas. Even those students who do not choose to pursue synthetic biology will be more likely to go into other fields of science and engineering by exposure to the excitement this program generates.

ENG/EEC 2009