iGEM Announces Winners in the 2014 Giant Jamboree Synthetic Biology Competition

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Nov. 19, 2014 - PRLog -- iGEM hosted the largest annual gathering of synthetic biologists to date, on October 30 - November 3, 2014 
in Boston, Massachusetts. Over 2300 university students from around the world traveled to the Hynes Convention Center to compete in the 10^th annual synthetic biology competition, the Giant Jamboree.  The excitement and enthusiasm was evident as 245 teams from 32 countries presented their genetically engineered systems and competed for the coveted grand prize trophy.

Students’ knowledge of synthetic biology was put to the ultimate test as teams worked to solve real-world challenges by creating novel genetically engineered systems. In just one summer students created customizable ultrafiltration membranes, circular heat-stable proteins, an olive oil quality biosensor, an anti-fungal system for banana plants, an innovative approach to a sustainable energy source, and even a novel insect control system!

As the winners were announced, Team Sumbawagen from Sumbawa, Indonesia received the biggest round of applause as the first recipient of the iGEM Chairman’s Award. This team’s demonstration of hard work and perseverance was the essence of what the Chairman’s Award was designed to recognize.

Despite rolling power outages on their island and working with limited equipment, this team of 12 students set to create a detection method designed to distinguish between genuine Sumbawa honey and import varieties. Lacking a fluorometer, the team built their own camera system to measure fluorescence. According to one judge, “[it was] the most beautiful report of a negative result…well-documented, precisely measured; you cannot measure green fluorescence with this camera system.”

A Sumbawagen team member summed up the iGEM Chairman’s Award philosophy perfectly by saying: “We are new, but we know that we will succeed because we have great heart.”

The accomplishments of this year’s participants were truly remarkable. We are proud to recognized the winning teams:

Chairman’s Award: Team Sumbawagen, Indonesia

Undergraduate Division:

      Grand Prize:  Team Heidelberg, Germany

      1^st Runner-up: Team Imperial, UK

      2^nd Runner-up:  Team NCTU Formosa, Taiwan

Overgraduate Division:

      Grand Prize:  Team UC Davis, USA

      1^st Runner-up:  Team Wageningen UR, Netherlands

      2^nd Runner-up:  Team TU Darmstadt, Germany

For a complete list of winners and projects visit our results page. (http://igem.org/2014_Results)

This 5-day event celebrated the hard work, creativity and advancements in synthetic biology through presentations, poster sessions, and workshops. A special presentation on Safeguarding Science hosted by Edward You, Supervisory Special Agent at FBI, Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate, Biological Countermeasures Unit, drew the largest crowd with nearly all attendees in attendance!

MORE INFO: iGEM (http://igem.org/Main_Page), the International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition is a non-profit organization that inspires future synthetic biologists by hosting high school and collegiate level competitions in synthetic biology. iGEM also maintains the Registry of Standard Biological Parts (http://parts.igem.org/Main_Page). With over 20,000 specified genetic parts, the iGEM Registry holds the world’s largest collection of BioBricks, open source DNA parts.

SAVE THE DATE: Join us on September 24-28, 2015 at the Hynes Convention Center Boston, MA to celebrate iGEM 2015