HORIZON INTERNATIONAL SOLUTIONS SITE

Competition for new tool to digitally capture images and data from museum insect collections is open.: Photograph courtesy of the American Institute of Biological Sciences

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) have launched the Beyond the Box National Digitization Innovation Competition. Through this competition, $1 million will be awarded to the individual or team that develops a novel way to accurately and efficiently capture digital images of insect specimens and their associated data from a standard museum drawer.

"The Beyond the Box Digitization Competition is designed to inspire the ingenuity of the American public and to engage scientists, engineers and everyday inventors in an effort to solve a problem that has been slowing the rate of scientific discovery," said James L. Olds, assistant director for the Directorate for Biological Sciences at NSF.

 The competition is designed to spur the development of digital innovations for capturing 3-D images of insect: specimens and associated data. Photograph by Afton Carpenter courtesy of the American Institute of Biological Sciences

From the beauty of butterflies to the agricultural significance of honeybees to the public health implications of mosquitoes, insects significantly influence people's quality of life in varied ways every day.

"Insects are an amazingly diverse group of organisms that represent an overwhelming amount of living biological diversity on Earth," said AIBS President Joseph Travis. "Most are not pests, but instead play important roles in our ecosystems. They pollinate our fruit trees, help break down waste, and are sources of food for other animals. Unfortunately, we have yet to fully identify, describe, or understand the biology of insects."

There are believed to be more than 1.5 million identified species of insects on Earth. This is hypothesized to be three times the number of all other animal species combined.

Amazingly, it is estimated that there are 10 quintillion (10,000,000,000,000,000,000) insects alive in the world. That's more than one billion times the number of people.

"We share the planet with so many insects, wouldn't it be wonderful if when we find a new one in our backyard we could take a picture of it and have that matched to an image in a museum somewhere. We could learn the name, understand what its role in the ecosystem is, or understand if it is an invasive species that might devastate our garden or nearby crop fields," said Norman Johnson, director of the Triplehorn Insect Collection at The Ohio State University, and the chairman of the planning committee that established the rules for the competition.

For more than 250 years, scientists have collected millions of insects from around the world. These specimens are now held in more than 1,000 natural science collections in universities and museums across the United States alone. Unfortunately, many of these specimens remain unknown to science, education, natural resource and public health managers and the general public. Quite simply, they have been locked away in cabinets.

"With technological advances in robotics, imaging, data capture and management, among other areas, it is now possible to develop new tools to digitally capture images of insect specimens and their associated data," said Johnson.

"This is important work that is going to solve some persistent challenges, advance science and engineering and is also likely to generate new tools that may have secondary commercial applications," said Olds.

Through the Advancing Digitization of Biological Collections program, NSF has pledged $100 million over ten years to support biodiversity collections research.

Other fields of biology have made progress digitizing specimens and sharing the data with research, education, and other user communities. Plant scientists, for example, have been developing innovative ways to image herbarium sheets. Despite these developments, insects have remained a challenge.

"We need to find a way to move from two-dimensional to three-dimensional images." Johnson said.

Insects are delicate and have small labels associated with them that have information about the specimen, such as its name and where it was collected. "These specimens and their associated data provide irreplaceable information about the history and nature of life on Earth, but it is not easy to capture this data in a cost-effective way that does not damage the specimen or label. We need a creative solution that will solve this problem," said Johnson.

"AIBS is pleased to partner with NSF on this endeavor," said Travis. "This is a unique opportunity to move science and technology forward with a leap instead of a small step."

Official contest rules and guidance are available at beyondthebox.aibs.org. Questions about the contest must be submitted through the website, where the questions and answers will be posted.

The contest opened on Dec. 5 and will close on Sept. 4, 2015 EST at 11:59 p.m. A winner will be selected following a competitive judging process and on-site demonstration by the finalists.

Official contest rules and guidance are available at beyondthebox.aibs.org. Questions about the contest must be submitted through the website, where the questions and answers will be posted.

Details on Eligibility:

Entrant Eligibility

Each Entrant (defined as either a team or individual) must have only one designated team leader. The team leader must be a U.S Citizen or a legal Permanent Resident and must reside in one of the 50 States, Washington, D.C., or a U.S. Territory.

Other than the team leader, team members are not required to be U.S. Citizens or to reside in the United States. Citizens of Burma (Myanmar), Cuba, Iran, Sudan, and Syria or persons or companies on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List maintained by the U.S. Treasury are not eligible to participate in any way in this Competition. There is no limit to the number of individuals on a team.

All entrants must be 13 years of age or older at the time of their submission. Entrants between 13 and 18 years of age will be required to demonstrate the consent of a parent or legal guardian at the time of submission.

Employees, board members, officers, and directors of the Sponsor (U.S. National Science Foundation [NSF]) and the Organizer (American Institute of Biological Sciences [AIBS]) directly involved with the development and/or administration of this Competition and members of their immediate family (parents, siblings, children, spouses, and life partners), as well as individuals living in the same household (whether related or not) are ineligible to submit an entry. Individuals who have provided guidance and consultation to the Sponsor and Organizer for this Competition, including Planning Committee members and any associated working group members, are ineligible to submit.

Entrants must have access to the Internet as of the Competition deadline. Entry and registrant information must be submitted in English. Participants must self-certify their eligibility as part of the online submission.

Entrants cannot include any Federal entity or Federal employee acting within the scope of their employment. This includes any U.S. Government organization or organization principally or substantially funded by the Federal Government, including Federally Funded Research and Development Centers, Government-owned, contractor operated (GOCO) facilities, and University Affiliated Research Centers.

An individual or entity shall not be deemed ineligible because the individual or entity used Federal facilities or consulted with Federal employees during the Competition if the facilities and employees are made available to all individuals and entities participating in the Competition on an equitable basis.

AIBS and NSF reserve the right to verify eligibility of any Entrants and winners, and reserve the right to disqualify Entrants at any time if, in NSF's and AIBS' determination, Entrants do not meet the Applicant Eligibility requirements.

Winning the prize Competition is contingent upon the Entrants fulfilling all of the requirements set forth in the Rules and Eligibility guidelines.

Entrants Under The Age of 18

Entrants must be aged 13 years or older on the date of submission. Those under 18 years of age (minors) as of their submission date require parental or legal guardian consent to submit to the Competition. Submissions must be made through the official contest entry form. Any minors on a team must have their parents or legal guardian submit consent on the appropriate part of the submission Web site.

Children of employees of the NSF directly involved with the development and/or administration of the contest, Competition judges, consultants for the Competition, employees of AIBS directly involved with the development and/or administration of the contest, contest Sponsor institutions, or current AIBS board members are ineligible to enter.

Should a Minor Entrant make it to the final round, s/he must be accompanied by a parent, legal guardian, or a responsible individual over the age of 18 as designated by a parent or legal guardian.

In order for a Minor Entrant to accept the grand prize, parental or legal guardian consent must be given to the NSF and AIBS to use the name and likeness of the grand prize winner in contest-related communications.

For full contest rules, visit the Complete Contest Rules and Materials section.

This news is from the The National Science Foundation (NSF) 5 December 2014. The article was published on the Horizon International Solutions Site on 8 December 2014.

About The National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2014, its budget is $7.2 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and other institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 50,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes about 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards about $593 million in professional and service contracts yearly.

About American Institute of Biological Sciences

AIBS builds community in support of researchers, educators, and scientists who understand the importance of sharing biological discovery and knowledge. In creating EDUCATION RESOURCES, monitoring PUBLIC POLICY, providing PEER REVIEW of scientific applications, programs, and scientific literature,PUBLISHING timely biological sciences information, and implementing dynamicPUBLIC OUTREACH PROGRAMS, we are ensuring the future of the biological sciences. 

The American Institute of Biological Sciences is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) scientific association dedicated to advancing biological research and education for the welfare of society. AIBS works to ensure that the public, legislators, funders, and the community of biologists have access to and use information that will guide them in making informed decisions about matters that require biological knowledge. The organization does this through informing decisions by providing peer-reviewed or vetted information about the biology field and profession and by catalyzing action through building the capacity and the leadership of the community to address matters of common concern. Learn more about the organization's recent work by reading our annual reports.

Founded in 1947 as a part of the National Academy of Sciences, AIBS became an independent, member-governed organization in the 1950s.