The Big Ideas @ Berkeley initiative and the Berkeley student government (ASUC) are teaming up with a variety of research centers and institutes on the campus to organize a series of white paper competitions that will encourage student teams to propose the next generation of research, education, and service activities on the UC Berkeley campus.
These competitions will provide $138,000 in prizes!
Goals of Bears Breaking Boundaries:
- Provide concrete support (money, advice, other resources) for creative, high-quality student proposals.
- Encourage UC Berkeley students to set ambitious goals for their current and future endeavors.
- Increase the role that UC Berkeley students play in shaping the next generation of research, education, and service activities on the campus.
- Encourage the innovation and fresh thinking that often arises from multidisciplinary student teams.
- Have fun!
Rules and Guidelines
To learn more about any of the 10 contests, please click on the contest links in the left hand column. Visit the various sections for more information, including the rules and guidelines page.
Latest Info
May 17, 2007 - Award recipients for all contests have been announced! Please see 2007 Award Recipients
Congratulations to everyone! Thank you for all the excellent proposals.
May 7, 2007, 4 - 5 pm - Two proposals for health care solutions in emerging regions were the shared top prize in this year's CITRIS White Paper competition. Read more about the winners and watch the ceremony on-line.
April 25, 2007 - Final Round of STEP competition - winners announced. See step.berkeley.edu
April 23, 2007 - We received over 100 submissions!!
April 23, 2007, 5 pm - deadline for 8 remaining contests (all but Synthetic Biology and STEP).
April 1, 2007, 5 pm - deadline for Synthetic Biology contest.
March 15th, 2007 - Speed Dating/Brainstorming Workshop and Free Dinner for Bio-Inspired Innovation:
Sign up for the "speed dating" and brainstorming workshop for the Bears Breaking Boundaries $15K contest in Bio-Inspired Innovation. Groups of interested students from a variety of backgrounds will meet, and will have a short period of time to generate ideas for potential research projects. For example, a biologist might describe some natural functionality that exists at the molecular, cellular, or organismal level, and a physical scientist, engineer, or MBA student might describe how this function might inform the design of materials, devices, systems, or services.
To participate in this session, send us an e-mail at bioinspire@gmail.com with your name, contact information, and a paragraph on your interests in bio-inspired innovation.
Date & time - March 15, 2007, 6 - 8 pm.
Place - Bechtel room 120A & B
Food will be served.
To learn more about this contest go here.
Submissions Deadlines
The STEP deadline is March 11, 2007. The deadline for Synthetic Biology is 5 pm, April 1, 2007. All other contests - 5 pm April 23, 2007.