Support of the 2010 EMBS conference, Buenos Aires, Argentina Summary The Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) will hold its annual conference (EMBC) at the Sheraton Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina from August 31 through September 4, 2010. It is expected that more than 1500 scientists, engineers and students will be attending this conference from all over the world. EMBS of the IEEE has been organizing annual conferences of the engineering in medicine and biology society for past 30 years. This has clearly become the flagship conference for the entire bioengineering discipline, bringing together international experts, industry representatives and students in many, diverse fields encompassing biomedical engineering. In keeping with our tradition, the EMBC Student Paper Competition (SPC) is indeed a critical portion of the conference that provides a forum for top-notch students to compete. Such a competition promotes education within bioengineering, encourages excellence, and spotlights prominent student work to the wider bioengineering community. It is believed that such a gathering of students is the best way to help launch careers of future leaders, as they witness and participate in the conference. Without the incentive of this Competition, many students would be unable or less likely to attend the conference, thus missing an introduction to the world of knowledge available at such conferences. In addition, the SPC plays a crucial role in recognizing the talents of women, minorities, and individuals with disability. This Competition promotes not only education within bioengineering disciplines, but fosters the next generation of bioengineers by providing a unique opportunity to students to meet and network with the leading biomedical professionals and scientists in the world. The overall goal of this proposal is to request support for the Student Paper Competition (SPC) for the 2010 EMBS International Conference. Our goals are to organize a competition amongst approximately 150-200 papers expected to be submitted to the SPC, and select up to 25 finalists, who will make highlighted oral presentations during the conference. Finalists will be selected based on the average score from written reviews (normally 2-3 reviews are obtained for each paper). During the Conference Review Process, the student's advisor must submit a nomination form for his/her student's paper to participate in the Competition. First, second, and third place winners will be selected based on the professionalism of the presentation, verbal communication skills, and the technical merit of the topic. Three SPC winners will receive an engraved plaque and an honorarium of US$1000 for the first place winner, US$750 for the second place winner, and US$500 for the third place winner. All Finalists will receive Certificates of Merit and will be recognized at the EMBS Awards Ceremony, with the appropriate acknowledgement of NIH sponsorship. Finalists will receive funds to defray the costs of travel expenses. The proposed funding will help student finalists to travel to present their research paper in the Student Paper Competition. It will also provide the cash prizes for the winners of the Competition and if funds remain, subsidize the attendance of junior faculty researchers. It is believed that such a gathering of students is the best way to help launch careers of future leaders with them witnessing and participating in the exemplary scientific and engineering behavior at the EMB conference. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Support of the 2010 EMBS conference, Buenos Aires, Argentina The Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) will hold its annual conference (EMBC) at the Sheraton Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina from August 31 through September 4, 2010. We request support for the Student Paper Competition (SPC), which we believe to be a most critical element of the conference. Our goals are to organize a competition amongst approximately 150-200 papers expected to be submitted to the SPC, and select up to 25 finalists, who will make highlighted oral presentations during the conference and will receive funds to defray the costs of travel expenses. It is believed that such a gathering of students is the best way to encourage attendance and help launch careers of these future leaders.