Regions/Americas West/Pre-Jamboree

iGEM Deadlines

Keep an eye on the iGEM deadlines and check the iGEM 2012 Calendar of Events regularly.

Americas West Teams

Check out the competition. Investigate how many teams are registered for the iGEM Americas West Regional Jamboree.

Team Project Description

Team projection submissions should be posted on the wiki by July 15, 2012.

Team Roster

In order to get a final list of team members, each team must finalize their team roster by September 3, 2012. For your roster to be finalized, each team member must have a user account and be listed on the Team Information page. Note that all members must be confirmed and NOT listed as "pending" (i.e. they should be in the Team Roster section of the Team Information page.

Be sure to include all members who participated over the summer, not only those who will be attending the Jamboree, as this list will be used to create participation certificates (so check for spelling mistakes too!).

For more information on how to add members/edit your Team Information page see the iGEM team Registration Handbook.

Safety Proposal

All teams are asked to detail how they approached any issues of biological safety associated with their projects. Be sure to read the Safety in iGEM page. Then review and answer the questions required for eligibility in the iGEM 2012 competition by September 3, 2012. The questions are posed on the iGEM 2011 safety page.

DNA Submissions

iGEM teams are expected to submit their parts to the Registry of Standard Biological Parts. Consider that all BioBricks for submissions contain the pSB1C3 as a standard backbone. Physical DNA for parts is due before the Jamboree. In addition to submitting your parts, you must also declare which of your parts are "favorites." Judges will only be looking at favorite parts so make sure to promote them before the October 3, 2012 deadline.

Note: Send your samples to iGEM HQ and NOT to iGEM Regional committee.

Judging Criteria & Forms

Teams will be required to submit a judging form that outlines their accomplishments according to the judging criteria. Judging forms are due on October 3, 2012.

Wiki Freeze

Wikis will be frozen on October 3, 2012 at 11:59 EDT.

The project and parts documentation should then be finished according to the iGEM requirements. This includes the documentation for all medal criteria. What is considered proper documentation is decided by the judging committee and you can find details about proper documentation at the judging page for details.

Jamboree Registration

Regional Jamboree registrations with payment are due September 3, 2012. Payments after the due date will increase by $50.00. Visit to the attendance fee page for more details and to register.

Undergraduate: $275.00 USD ($325.00 USD after deadline)
Instructor: $475.00 USD ($525.00 USD after deadline)
Industry: $1175.00 USD ($1225.00 USD after deadline)

Jamboree Schedule

Coming Soon!

Track Selection

Track selection helps group similar projects together so that they may be judged fairly and share presentation time. It is important that you submit your track selection on time by September 3, 2012.

Practice Session Sign-up

Use this sign-up sheet to sign up for a slot on Friday night (October 12th) to practice your talk. Note that there will NOT be any A/V (audio/visual) support on staff. All classrooms will be unlocked and you should use them and leave them as you found them.

There are a limited number of time slots available on a first-come first-serve basis so please only choose one slot. We cannot match the room that you will ultimately give your presentation in with the practice room. This should, however, give you a chance to practice your talk in a new environment. Please keep in mind that there will be teams waiting to use the room after you, so make sure that your practice finishes on time.

Also, on Friday, October 12th, there will be pre-registration available and teams can receive their registration boxes. (see the Jamboree Handbook).

Friday, November 4

Project Abstract

In order to provide others with a summary of what your project is about, we will be asking each iGEM team to submit an abstract of 100-150 words along with your project title (maximum 15 words) by September 3, 2012. Your abstract will be used in the Jamboree program that will provide a guide to the different topics that iGEM teams will be presenting. Please see the project abstract page for more details.

Poster Requirements

There is a poster session on Saturday. Locations will be assigned at random prior to your arrival at the Regional Jamboree.

Posters shall be NO LARGER than 4ft (width) x 4ft (height). Each team may only put up ONE poster.

For details on poster judging see the judging page. Keep in mind that the poster must be able to convey your team's project fully. It should be able to be judged without any external information or input from team members.

iGEM Americas West will be asking for a copy of your poster in pdf format for our files. You will be required to provide the pdf version of your poster at the beginning of your scheduled presentation session.

Presentation Requirements

Each registered iGEM team is to give a 20-minute presentation, followed by 5 minutes of questions/answers session. A laptop will NOT be provided to your team - please make sure you bring your own laptop from which to display your presentation as well as any necessary accessories to connect the laptop to a projector cable.

iGEM Americas West will also be asking for a copy of your presentation in pdf format for our files. You will be required to provide the pdf version of your presentation prior to your scheduled presentation session.

Software Tools Track Teams

Visit the iGEM Software Tools Development page for detailed information about the software tools track teams criteria.

Book your Hotel

iGEM does not provide travel or housing for any iGEM members. Participants are required to make their own travel and lodging arrangements.

Travel Information

San Jose International Airport and San Francisco International Airport have several options for ground transportation to and from Palo Alto.

Weather

The temperature in Palo Alto ranges from 48°F to 74°F in October. You may want to visit www.weather.comto get a useful 7 day weather forecast.

General Release Form

The iGEM 2012 Americas West Regional Jamboree will be a multimedia event: in addition to the team presentation videos that will be uploaded online, we will also be uploading photos and videos from the entire regional event so others can get an idea of what iGEM and the Regional Jamborees are like.

In order to comply with the law, every person attending the Jamboree must fill out this general release form. All participants attending the Americas West Regional Jamboree must print, fill out, and bring a general release form with you to the Jamboree.

Guests, Family and Friends

Guests, family and friends are welcome to come to the Jamboree. Each must register and pay the Jamboree attendance fee. As space is limited in presentation rooms and at the opening and closing ceremony, preference will be given to iGEM team members. Extra seating will be available on a space available basis. Payment of the Regional Jamboree attendance fee does not guarantee a seat in presentation rooms or at the opening and closing ceremony.

General Inquiry

For inquiries, please contact
Meagan Lizarazo, iGEM Vice President
meagan@igem.org
859-977-7450

Organizing Committee

Volunteer

Hundreds of iGEM participants will be in Palo Alto for the iGEM Americas West Regional Jamboree. The Jamboree will take place on October 12-14, 2012 on the Stanford Campus. During this event, we rely on a team of hardworking volunteers to help us ensure that every iGEM participant has an amazing experience.

If you're an student, interested in synthetic biology and would like to take a peek at what we're doing at iGEM, please contact ... We're currently looking for helping hands.

Basic requirements for all our volunteers:

• Preferably available at all three days of the Jamboree (October 12-14), with the understanding that these are long days
• Available to attend the training session in the afternoon on October 12, 2012
• Arrange and pay for your own accommodation

• Great experience in international events production
• Free t-shirt
• Free dinner on Friday, lunch and dinner on Saturday; and breakfast on Sunday
• Exposure to senior and young scientists: the current and future European leaders in the field of Synthetic Biology

• Videotape the team presentations
• Help coordinate sessions
• Answer questions and help the attendees