Introduction
The BioCode competition is held by TJ Bioinformatics Society. In this competition, teams compete with each other to solve the most number of problems, within a wide range of difficulty. These problems are all related to biology but require no previous biological knowledge and only minimal CS experience. The competition is completely free and we have free food and over $1550 in prizes. The competition will consist of an opening ceremony, 4 hours of programming time, and an awards ceremony. BioCode 2021 Welcome Packet Contest Link |
Structure
There will be three divisions: middle school, basic high school (have not taken AP Computer Science), and advanced high school (have taken AP Computer Science). Prizes will be awarded to the top 10 middle school teams, and top 3 high school teams in each category. If you currently do not have a team, we will pair you with other students in your division. More information will be given during opening ceremonies.
During the programming portion, teams of up to four will receive a set of problems to complete (anything as simple as "translate this DNA into RNA" to "model equilibrium in this population"). The problems will explain all the biology you need to solve the problem - essentially, you will solve coding problems that happen to be about biology. We designed the problem set so that, even with simple knowledge of Java/Python/C++/other languages, you will be able to do a significant amount of the problems. More difficult problems will be worth more points. Descriptions of the programming problems, test cases, and point values are given in a packet. More information about problem submission will be given during opening ceremonies.
Bioinformatics Sessions
In addition, if you finish early, cannot solve any more problems, or are interested in learning something new, then there are sessions during those 4 hours of programming where you can learn more about bioinformatics, programming, or the school TJHSST. In these lectures, you can learn a new programming language, get assistance with solving one of the competition problems, or learn about how bioinformatics is applied in the real world. More information about these sessions will be given during opening ceremonies.
Prizes
Each division will have individual prizes for the winners of their respective divisions. These prizes will include a cash prize and possible access to wolfram alpha notebook edition for a year.
Thank you to our sponsor this year:
There will be three divisions: middle school, basic high school (have not taken AP Computer Science), and advanced high school (have taken AP Computer Science). Prizes will be awarded to the top 10 middle school teams, and top 3 high school teams in each category. If you currently do not have a team, we will pair you with other students in your division. More information will be given during opening ceremonies.
During the programming portion, teams of up to four will receive a set of problems to complete (anything as simple as "translate this DNA into RNA" to "model equilibrium in this population"). The problems will explain all the biology you need to solve the problem - essentially, you will solve coding problems that happen to be about biology. We designed the problem set so that, even with simple knowledge of Java/Python/C++/other languages, you will be able to do a significant amount of the problems. More difficult problems will be worth more points. Descriptions of the programming problems, test cases, and point values are given in a packet. More information about problem submission will be given during opening ceremonies.
Bioinformatics Sessions
In addition, if you finish early, cannot solve any more problems, or are interested in learning something new, then there are sessions during those 4 hours of programming where you can learn more about bioinformatics, programming, or the school TJHSST. In these lectures, you can learn a new programming language, get assistance with solving one of the competition problems, or learn about how bioinformatics is applied in the real world. More information about these sessions will be given during opening ceremonies.
Prizes
Each division will have individual prizes for the winners of their respective divisions. These prizes will include a cash prize and possible access to wolfram alpha notebook edition for a year.
Thank you to our sponsor this year: