Sponsored by NASA, the goal of this 2013 series of challenges was to develop an iPad application for astronauts to use on the International Space Station (ISS) to track food intake. Astronauts on ISS have busy daily schedules and needed a simple way to record what they eat and drink in... Read more about ISS-FIT App
The high quality of medical care in our society is built upon the creation of scientific knowledge through medical research. While the impact of good management practices has been rigorously analyzed across industry sectors, little is known about... Read more about Managing Scientific Research
In collaboration with the Broad Institute, the goal of this 2016 precision medicine contest was to find an algorithm that aligned multiple DNA sequences to a reference DNA for a simpler case. The reference DNA and the DNA from which the sequences originated had only minor differences. The task was to align these sequences fast and accurately,... Read more about DNA Sequencing Challenge
The goal of this 2015 challenge, conducted in collaboration with the Scripps Research Institute on Topcoder, was to optimize and speed up an existing algorithm for clustering antibody sequences (see the problem statement). Clustering these sequences allows researchers to understand... Read more about Antibody Clustering Challenge
LISH is transforming the processes in which traditional academic research labs work through the integration of crowds and crowdsourcing methodologies. As the lab has had success with the use of crowds to solve complex problems... Read more about Integrating Crowds into Academic Labs
As part of determining best practices in crowdsourcing, we are working to develop the optimal design of contests by investigating the role of various parameters in contests including number of contestants, matching between tasks and solvers, information revelation, and prize structure.... Read more about Optimal Design of Contests: Information Revelation in Contests
In this project, we study the effect of social comparison on inequality in contest environment. We hypothesize that the effects of social comparison on effort will differ for top-performers and bottom-performers in a way that inequality increases, where we consider inequality both in terms of the dispersion of outcomes... Read more about Social Comparison and Contests
The goal of this 2014 challenge series was to develop a model, based on data provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to quantitatively predict a chemical’s systemic Lowest Effect Level (LEL) in a traditional animal toxicity study. The systemic LEL is the lowest dose that shows adverse effects in these animal toxicity tests.... Read more about EPA ToxCast Predication Challenge
The goal of this series of challenges, conducted from August 2013 to January 2015, was to predict the locations and times that the cyanobacteria bloom to occur. Algae are natural components of marine and freshwater flora performing many roles that... Read more about EPA Cyanobacteria Predictive Modeling and Mobile App Challenge
Sponsored by CoECI in 2016-2017, this series of challenges was to develop an algorithm to help identify and react to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU) (see the problem statement for contest 1; problem statement for contest 2). The first contest drew in 77 competitors who submitted 1,206 submissions while competing for $18,000 in prizes. The top five competitors submitted... Read more about Fishing for Fishermen
Historical patents are a difficult target for digitization. Figures and labels are central to patents and present complex combinations of image and text elements. Sponsored by the CoECI in 2011, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Algorithm Challenge tasked competitors... Read more about U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Algorithm Challenge
QuakeFinder, an R&D project within Stellar Solutions Inc., has collected a decades worth of data along major faultlines using specialized sensors. The goal of this 2015 NASA challenge was to characterize pre-earthquake electromagnetic signals and develop a forecasting algorithm capable... Read more about Quest for Quakes