You must be a student enrolled at the undergraduate or graduate level to participate. For those participating in person, refreshments and lunch will be provided both days.

Target Descriptions:

1. Beginner Coding – Learn the basics of machine learning and Internet of Things to program a raspberry pi camera system as a “gel alarm” to let you know when your DNA is getting close to the edge of your gel. Biologists and other beginners are encouraged to participate in this category. No prior programming experience needed!

2. Experienced Coding – Interested in machine learning and rapid phenotyping? Here’s your chance to put your skills to work! Design software that can distinguish between the leaves, hypocotyl, and roots of growing plant seedings. This event is aimed at more experienced engineers and coders.

3. Hack a 3D Printer for Biology – Plant and microbial biology involve a lot of repetitive tasks and expensive machines. What if an inexpensive 3D printer could be used to make it less tedious and more accessible? Participants are invited to come up with innovative hardware designs to convert 3D printers into Arabidopsis plate seeders, 3D plant scanners, leaf samplers, liquid aliquotors, or maybe even a thermocycler. This event is aimed at more experienced engineers and CAD designers.