Eligibility

> Students enrolled in biology or science-related courses (Grade 9 to 12) in any public or private school within the United States.

> Individual students only may submit only ONE project for this competition.

Project Guidelines

For the purposes of this program, the following definition of biotechnology is used: "Biotechnology is the use of the knowledge of biological systems to produce goods and services."

1. A project is deemed relevant if its content relates to the various applications of biotechnology such as health care, agriculture and forestry, food processing, mining and the environment, and forensics; and it applies the knowledge and techniques of the current courses at school and/or other scientific studies such as biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology, microbiology and biotechnology.

2. The project must include scientific experiments that recognize and control all significant variables and demonstrate excellent collection, analysis and presentation of data.

3. The project should not involve the use of any dangerous chemicals or biohazardous materials, except under the direct supervision of qualified personnel with appropriate permission and consent forms completed and on file. All required permissions and paperwork of the International Science and Engineering Fair (link to ISEF provided under "relevant links") must be completed in advance of conducting the project.

4. The project should conform in general with the guidelines for International Science and Engineering Fair Guidelines.

Application Package

> The application package must be submitted in printed form. In addition, include an electronic copy of your submission on CD-Rom.

> Please note that all applicants must include a current E-mail address in their application form. Students will be contacted by email.

> Do not use report covers, binders, or folders.

> Application packages will not be returned. Please retain a copy for your records.

Information about the Research Project

Unlike other science research competitions (i.e. Siemens, Intel), only a maximum of four pages (plus an additional two for Appendices) can be allotted for giving information about your research project. The application form gives a very clear indication of what they require: a title, succinct abstract, objective, introduction, design, results/interpretation, and raw data. The appendices should include a brief materials and methods section, a timeline, and an indication if you had a mentor for your project. As you are only given a small amount of space to give information about your project, it is very important to remove anything extraneous from your report, and ensure that all the information provided is clear and helpful to the reader. For further, more detailed information regarding the application, click on this link to view the application for 2008.