White Paper Competition

White Paper Competition 2008

Results

1st Place (tie): Mitigating the Oil Crisis: Coal-to-Liquid Technology for American Energy Independence by Brian Kessler and Gavi Begtrup
1st Place (tie): Promoting Pharmaceutical Research under National Health Care Reform by Jacob Heller and Gabriel Rocklin
2nd Place: Privacy Concerns in Personal Genomics by Dov Greenbaum
3rd Place: Patentright Licenses: Open-source Licensing for Patented Technologies by Jessica Richman

Travel Grant: Brian Kessler and Gavi Begtrup. They plan to travel to Washington, DC to meet with Sen. Dorgan and Bunning and Rep. Boucher to discuss current legislation on Coal-to-Liquid Technology. They also plan to speak with Sen. Boxer and Feinstein and Rep. Lee to discuss the relevance of CTL technology to California.

A special thank you to our judges for their participation:

Jan Liphardt (Professor of Physics, UC Berkeley),
Amy Flood (Senior Directory of Public Affairs, Gilead Sciences)
Rebecca Slayton (Lecturer and CSIAC Affiliate, Program in Science, Technology and Society, Stanford University)

Finalist Symposium
Come join us for a fascinating discussion of issues at the nexus of science, technology and policy. Watch your fellow students present their proposals to a panel of judges and compete for over $5,000 in cash prizes.

Thurs, Aug 14
5:00 - 7:00 pm
106 Stanley Hall
UC Berkeley Campus
Refreshments will be served.

Overview
Individuals or teams are invited to submit a short White Paper on policies affecting high-impact technologies. The competition is open to undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at participating universities, including: UC Berkeley, UCSF, and Stanford. Finalists will be invited to present their papers at the Finalists Presentation and Awards Ceremony, which will take place on the UC Berkeley Campus in August 2008. The winning papers' author(s) will receive cash prizes. Over $6,000 will be awarded this year. The submission deadline is June 12, 2008.

Prompt
Your essay should explore the interplay between an emergent or existing technology and pressing regional, national, or global policy needs. Suggested essay formats include:

Identify a problem in society and evaluate possible solutions, including at least one technological solution.
-OR -
Identify a technology that is causing a problem and explore policy solutions.

You may additionally write a short proposal (related to your white paper and less than one page) on a political figure, advisor, or expert that you would like to meet and why. We will award up to four grants of up to $500 each for travel to meet with the political figure or advisor and discuss your paper and ideas.

Information Session
STEP organized a White Paper Competition information session on the Berkeley Campus on April 2, 2008. Students had an opportunity to hear an overview of the guidelines from the competition as well as a panel discussion from former competition winners. The information session was recorded as a podcast, available below.

Pod Cast (iTunes format)

Pod Cast (webcast.berkeley format)

Powerpoint Presentation (pdf)

Timeline
April 2, 2008 (4-6 pm): White Paper Competition Info Session, UC Berkeley Campus, 521 Stanley Hall
Before May 9, 2008: Intent to Submit
June 12, 2008 (5 pm): Submission deadline
July 18, 2008: Finalists announced
August 15-16, 2008: Finalist presentation and Awards Ceremony

Awards
1) White paper awards: First place: $2,000; Second place: $1,500; Third place: $1,000.
2) Up to four travel grants: $500 each.

Guidelines
We recommend that you answer the following questions in your paper:
What is the problem? What is your supporting evidence that this problem exists?
What are some proposed solutions?
What criteria did you use to compare solutions?
Why is your solution the best?
What are the tradeoffs, uncertainties, and risks of your solution?

White Papers will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
1) Supporting Science: The clarity with which the supporting science is explained. The relevance of the science to the stated problem. The efficacy of the technology in addressing the problem.
2) Supporting Policy Analysis: Demonstrated understanding of the policy problem. Is the issue significant and supported by evidence?
3) Effectiveness of the Proposed Solution: The clarity and detail with which the solution is explained. Thorough development of the solution, including consideration of the positive and negative implications of implementation. Does the solution seem optimal?

Specifications
The paper can be from 2 to 8 pages in length. The 8-page limit is just for the body of the paper and does not include references or the executive summary. The executive summary should be a maximum of one page. Collaboration between students in science, engineering, social science, and policy is encouraged but not required. The STEP Papers can have from one to three authors, all of whom must be current students. The competition is open to both undergraduate and graduate students who are enrolled at participating universities, including: UC Berkeley, UCSF, and Stanford. We encourage students from other universities to participate as well. If you are interested in participating and are not enrolled at one of these universities, please email step.whitepaper gmail.com. If you wish to be considered for a travel grant, submit a brief proposal (related to your white paper and less than one page) on a political figure, advisor, or expert that you would like to meet and why. If you have any questions email step.whitepaper gmail.com.

Sign up for the STEP Google Group (http://groups.google.com/group/step-whitepaper?hl=en) to find potential teammates and discuss pertinent issues.

Submission Instructions
If you intend to submit, please e-mail your expected team members, e-mail addresses, and proposed title of your submission to step.whitepaper gmail.com as soon as possible. Put "STEP Intent to Submit" in the title line. Only one e-mail is needed per team. This is non-binding and will ensure you are kept up to date with information on the competition.

Please submit essays electronically in pdf or doc format by 5pm on June 12, 2008 to step.whitepaper gmail.com. Put "STEP Paper Submission" in the subject line. The name of the file should be the last name of one of the authors. On the cover page, include all authors' contact information and an executive summary. We reserve the right to use this paper for the purposes of the STEP group, unless otherwise specified and approved.

Past White Paper Competition Winners

2007
2006


About STEP	Events	White Paper Competition	Science Policy Symposium	Resources	Contact Us
White Paper Competition 2008 Results 1st Place (tie): Mitigating the Oil Crisis: Coal-to-Liquid Technology for American Energy Independence by Brian Kessler and Gavi Begtrup 1st Place (tie): Promoting Pharmaceutical Research under National Health Care Reform by Jacob Heller and Gabriel Rocklin 2nd Place: Privacy Concerns in Personal Genomics by Dov Greenbaum 3rd Place: Patentright Licenses: Open-source Licensing for Patented Technologies by Jessica Richman *Travel Grant: Brian Kessler and Gavi Begtrup. They plan to travel to Washington, DC to meet with Sen. Dorgan and Bunning and Rep. Boucher to discuss current legislation on Coal-to-Liquid Technology. They also plan to speak with Sen. Boxer and Feinstein and Rep. Lee to discuss the relevance of CTL technology to California. A special thank you to our judges for their participation: Jan Liphardt (Professor of Physics, UC Berkeley), Amy Flood (Senior Directory of Public Affairs, Gilead Sciences) Rebecca Slayton (Lecturer and CSIAC Affiliate, Program in Science, Technology and Society, Stanford University) Finalist Symposium Come join us for a fascinating discussion of issues at the nexus of science, technology and policy. Watch your fellow students present their proposals to a panel of judges and compete for over $5,000 in cash prizes. Thurs, Aug 14 5:00 - 7:00 pm 106 Stanley Hall UC Berkeley Campus Refreshments will be served. Overview Individuals or teams are invited to submit a short White Paper on policies affecting high-impact technologies. The competition is open to undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at participating universities, including: UC Berkeley, UCSF, and Stanford. Finalists will be invited to present their papers at the Finalists Presentation and Awards Ceremony, which will take place on the UC Berkeley Campus in August 2008. The winning papers' author(s) will receive cash prizes. Over $6,000 will be awarded this year. The submission deadline is June 12, 2008.* Prompt Your essay should explore the interplay between an emergent or existing technology and pressing regional, national, or global policy needs. Suggested essay formats include: Identify a problem in society and evaluate possible solutions, including at least one technological solution. -OR - Identify a technology that is causing a problem and explore policy solutions. You may additionally write a short proposal (related to your white paper and less than one page) on a political figure, advisor, or expert that you would like to meet and why. We will award up to four grants of up to $500 each for travel to meet with the political figure or advisor and discuss your paper and ideas. Information Session STEP organized a White Paper Competition information session on the Berkeley Campus on April 2, 2008. Students had an opportunity to hear an overview of the guidelines from the competition as well as a panel discussion from former competition winners. The information session was recorded as a podcast, available below. Pod Cast (iTunes format) Pod Cast (webcast.berkeley format) Powerpoint Presentation (pdf) Timeline April 2, 2008 (4-6 pm): White Paper Competition Info Session, UC Berkeley Campus, 521 Stanley Hall Before May 9, 2008: Intent to Submit June 12, 2008 (5 pm): Submission deadline July 18, 2008: Finalists announced August 15-16, 2008: Finalist presentation and Awards Ceremony Awards 1) White paper awards: First place: $2,000; Second place: $1,500; Third place: $1,000. 2) Up to four travel grants: $500 each. Guidelines We recommend that you answer the following questions in your paper: What is the problem? What is your supporting evidence that this problem exists? What are some proposed solutions? What criteria did you use to compare solutions? Why is your solution the best? What are the tradeoffs, uncertainties, and risks of your solution? White Papers will be evaluated based on the following criteria: 1) Supporting Science: The clarity with which the supporting science is explained. The relevance of the science to the stated problem. The efficacy of the technology in addressing the problem. 2) Supporting Policy Analysis: Demonstrated understanding of the policy problem. Is the issue significant and supported by evidence? 3) Effectiveness of the Proposed Solution: The clarity and detail with which the solution is explained. Thorough development of the solution, including consideration of the positive and negative implications of implementation. Does the solution seem optimal? Specifications The paper can be from 2 to 8 pages in length. The 8-page limit is just for the body of the paper and does not include references or the executive summary. The executive summary should be a maximum of one page. Collaboration between students in science, engineering, social science, and policy is encouraged but not required. The STEP Papers can have from one to three authors, all of whom must be current students. The competition is open to both undergraduate and graduate students who are enrolled at participating universities, including: UC Berkeley, UCSF, and Stanford. We encourage students from other universities to participate as well. If you are interested in participating and are not enrolled at one of these universities, please email step.whitepaper gmail.com. If you wish to be considered for a travel grant, submit a brief proposal (related to your white paper and less than one page) on a political figure, advisor, or expert that you would like to meet and why. If you have any questions email step.whitepaper gmail.com. Sign up for the STEP Google Group (http://groups.google.com/group/step-whitepaper?hl=en) to find potential teammates and discuss pertinent issues. Submission Instructions If you intend to submit, please e-mail your expected team members, e-mail addresses, and proposed title of your submission to step.whitepaper gmail.com as soon as possible. Put "STEP Intent to Submit" in the title line. Only one e-mail is needed per team. This is non-binding and will ensure you are kept up to date with information on the competition. Please submit essays electronically in pdf or doc format by 5pm on June 12, 2008 to step.whitepaper gmail.com. Put "STEP Paper Submission" in the subject line. The name of the file should be the last name of one of the authors. On the cover page, include all authors' contact information and an executive summary. We reserve the right to use this paper for the purposes of the STEP group, unless otherwise specified and approved. Past White Paper Competition Winners 2007 2006