SABC is first out of the Petri dish as science fair season opens

    TORONTO, April 16 /CNW/ - Science fair season has arrived again in Canada
and first out of the Petri dish this year is the sanofi-aventis biotech
challenge (sabc). This year's Canadian sabc will comprise 13 regional
competitions, beginning today, with each first-place regional winner
continuing on to a national contest.
    Regional competitions will be held in British Columbia (Vancouver,
April 13), New Brunswick (Fredericton, Apr. 19-20), Edmonton (Apr. 20),
Manitoba (Winnipeg, Apr. 24), Saskatchewan (Saskatoon, Apr. 25-26), Nova
Scotia (Halifax, Apr. 25-26), Newfoundland Labrador (St. John's Apr. 25-26),
Prince Edward Island (Charlottetown, Apr. 26), Calgary (Apr. 27), Montréal
(May 1-2), Western Ontario (London, May 2), Eastern Ontario (Ottawa, May 1-3),
and Toronto (May 1-3).
    National level judging of the 13 regional winners will take place at the
National Research Council, Ottawa, May 10, the results announced on a media
teleconference and webcast at 1 p.m. EDT Fri. May 11.
    Each regional sabc features the outstanding work of high school students
who have conducted biotechnology research projects and experiments of their
own design and in an area of their choice. Students work with a mentor,
usually a university professor. Cash prizes are awarded to the top five or six
teams and their schools based on the recommendations of judges from the
scientific and education communities as well as the biotechnology industry.
    Begun in the Toronto area in 1994, the annual sabc competitions raise
awareness among students, educators and the public about biotechnology science
and its applications in health care, agriculture and the environment. The
supporting organizations anticipate that the events will encourage more
students to pursue studies and careers in biotechnology, which has become one
of the major knowledge-based industries of the new century.
    For detailed information on the sabc in your area:
http://biotechchallenge.ca/.

For further information:

For further information: Media contacts: Terry Collins, (416) 538-8712,
(647) 284-8712 (mob), terrycollins@rogers.com; Michael Krauss, (416) 409-9748,
michael@hartwellgroup.ca