Limited resources

[rk7919]

Hi,

I am hoping to participate in this year's Siemens science fair, and I am still looking for a topic. I may or may not have access to a laboratory while I am working, so I would appreciate suggestions for fields of science that I could focus my topic search on so that I could easily make do with limited technology/resources. (Just as an example, a field like cell biology or something.) Thank you!

[scibuddyAK]

Hi rk7919,

Entering the Siemens Competition is a great goal to have! As a prior participant myself, I can confidently say that simply the process of writing a paper for publishing is a fantastic experience. Actually, to the best of my knowledge, most hard-core biology topics (cell biology included), require lab access, i.e. for cell lines or microscopes. You may want to look into computational projects: bioinformatics, computational chemistry, or any similar field, since computational projects usually allow you to explore any topic of your interest with internet/database access. This can likely be done without a lab.

However, I do urge you to reach out to any local labs/facilities you may potentially have access to! It's not too late to approach a lab and get started now.

Please keep us posted on what you decide! Hope this helps.
--scibuddyAK

[rk7919]

Thank you so much scibuddyak! I think I will end up looking into a computational-type project, since I do not know if I will have enough time to find access to a lab and complete a project by September 30th, the deadline for Siemens, although I will try. Do you think it will be feasible at all for me to try to do a more lab-oriented project?

[JMP]

I have to agree with scibuddy that it will be easier for you to do a computational project in the time you have available, but if you are truly interested in doing a lab project, I would say that it's not completely impossible, as long as you get started right away. Start contacting labs and mentors immediately, and make sure you have some projects in mind that can be done in a fairly short time period. If you don't find a lab and mentor within the next week or two, then I'd definitely plan to stick with a computational project.

Good luck!
JMP

[scibuddyAK]

Yes! I wholeheartedly agree with JMP's advice. Try contacting some labs ASAP, but keep your options open by still looking for computational work on the side.

Let us know what you decide!
Happy to help,
scibuddyAK