Simon Koplev

BSc in Biochemistry, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

I always wanted to be an astronaut. I wanted to travel and uncoil the unknown corridors of space itself. As my envisioned future gradually decayed and steadily got replaced by the grim and earth-bound realities of scholarship, I found myself still gazing towards stellar things. If I could still see them, that is. Eyesight was never a prime attribute due to heavy book-reading. It was at this point in time that I fell in love with the art of pipetting and working long hours in slightly unexplored corners of just about any laboratory, furiously and with great care moving small amounts of liquids from one container to another. As for know this constitutes enough reason for existence, refraining me from killing myself in a freak-space-rocket accident.

Damian Rafal Plichta

BSc in Biotechnology, Silesian University of Technology, Poland

I always wanted to save the world. Easy said, difficult to do. After all, what does it really mean? Saving the environment from pollution, or eradicating famine, or maybe obliterating poverty... At some point I became interested in biology and genetic engineering, which seems to be a good starting point. With the cutting edge techniques and applications, modern biology offers immense possibilities for improving the quality of life for humankind. I want to contribute to it. Why not to do iGEM then? With all the crazy ideas people are having, this competition brings you to a new level of realization of what can be done.

Lars Roed Ingerslev

BSc in Biotechnology, Technical University of Denmark

I will freely admit that I have always been a bit of a science geek. Initially physics was the dream, I wanted to go to space (and preferably build the rocket myself), but sometime during my high school studies, my interest in planets and black holes was diminished and the workings of the cell became the focus of my affection.

So what better way to go than studying Biotechnology? That was where I met what has become my other academic interest: statistics and data analysis. Fortunately modern biology is full of data and there is plenty of room for people who want to spend hours in front of the computer, analyzing the latest high-throughput genome sequencing experiment.

Jing Zhao

BSc in Biotechnology, Beijing University of Technology, China

Believe it or not, my dream is to become artist or writer. The reason why I choose Biotechnology as my major is that I also interested in science and want to solve problems such as energy, environment and human health with this technology in the future. Fortunately, I can take part in IGEM and it is a very special experience for me to know a lot of friends and learn knowledge at the same time.

Helle Krogh Pedersen

BSc in Biotechnology, Aalborg University, Denmark

How would you like to spend your summer; enjoying life on the beach or working long hours in front of a computer doing geeky things nobody understands in a little dark room? Easy choice - of course I dedicated myself to iGEM. I would like to include something about my role in the team, like Helge. But what is my role….? Accessory on the photo: ?? Chairman stuff. Maybe a gavel.

Anna Lewinska

BSc of Biotechnology, Technical University of Łódź and hopefully soon MSc of Systems Biology, Technical University of Denmark

Do the words such as “mystery”, “unknown” make you excited? Do you wonder how it will be to wander in the labyrinths of forgotten places? Don’t you want to unravel all the secrets? If so you are exactly like me. I always wanted to be like Indiana Jones or Sherlock Holmes. However, as the real life came it pulled me down to earth. But still I found a field that is very close to my dream. It was of course, molecular biology. It seems like a maze with a lot of dead-ends, but when you managed to find the right path and solve all the puzzles, there is a huge treasure awaiting for you. That is why, long hours in laboratory or reading fascinatingly.

Helge Munk Jacobsen

Hopefully soon BSc in Software Engineering, Technical University of Denmark

Okay, I admit it! I have no clue what this synthetic biology is all about. I don’t know what RNA is, and I can’t tell you what protein has to do with it. But what I do know, is how to redesign a wiki page, and how to present complicated academical stuff in a way that is easy to understand. And the fact that I don’t have any kind of biotech knowledge will probably make this task a lot easier.