Hardware in iGEM should make synthetic biology based on standard parts easier, faster, better, or more accessible to our community.
This award is for teams who develop hardware for synthetic biology. Good iGEM hardware makes work with standard parts easier, faster, better, or more accessible: think a sensor that helps characterize parts, or a robot that automates experiments and cloning. Strong contenders demonstrate utility, user testing, and easy reproducibility.
Visit the Special Awards page for more information.
In addition to encouraging teams to work with DNA parts and build biological devices in the lab, iGEM also encourages other types of technical solutions for synthetic biology. This can include physical devices (hardware) related to robotic assembly, microfluidics, low-cost measurement devices, to name a few examples. There are many exciting opportunities for hardware innovation in synthetic biology.