Achievement

PRACTICAL TESTBEDS SPUR MULTIDISCIPLINARY TRAINING NSABB/RAC, DHS and DoD concerns over biological and information security spurred formation of working groups on substantive biosecurity and cybersecurity problems that had deep and broad educational effects. Four IGERT trainees produced papers and dissertations on biological and information security issues, with exceptional integration of technical and social scientific methods. Three non-IGERT grad students joined IGERT working groups and are doing multidisciplinary work on info and bio security. Ten undergrads in Natalie Kuldell’s SynBio course were tasked with addressing safety and security issues in projects; IGERT faculty and trainees assisted. Several thousand undergrad and high school students from 20 countries will compete in 2009 iGEM. In May 2009, IGERT faculty helped train 40 iGEM faculty leaders on biosafety, preparatory to developing web based teaching materials later in the year.