You have been identified as the Qualified Scientist for a\nstudent who has registered for the science fair. Congratulations and thank you\nfor your support of the Pittsburgh Regional Science and Engineering Fair and\nthe students participating in the fair! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Qualified Scientist Role<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n A Qualified Scientist is defined as a person who has earned a doctoral\/professional degree in a scientific discipline related to student\u2019s area of research and\/or has extensive experience and expertise in the student\u2019s area of research and is thoroughly familiar with the regulations that govern the student\u2019s area of research. The Adult Sponsor (Teacher, Homeschool parent, club leader) is rarely a Qualified Scientist as defined by ISEF, especially in the junior and intermediate divisions.<\/strong> If you do not fit the description of a Qualified Scientist above, please contact the student or the Adult Sponsor and ask them to remove you from the project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In cases where the\nQualified Scientist supervises a laboratory in which the study is taking place,\nbut is not the person who will be directly supervising the student, the\nQualified Scientist also has the right to appoint a Designated Supervisor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Qualified\nScientist is not required for most projects. In most cases, a Qualified\nScientist is only required is the student is working in a regulated research\ninstitution or is working with potentially hazardous biological agent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Depending upon the\ntopic of the project and the proposed location of experimentation, the Qualified\nScientist will need to complete and\/or sign Form 2: Qualified Scientist Form, Form\n3: Risk Assessment, Form 5A\/B: Vertebrate Animal Form, Form 6A: Potentially\nHazardous Biological Agents Form, Form 6B: Human and Vertebrate Animal Tissue\nForm and\/or Form 1C: Regulated Research Institution\/Industrial Setting Form. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Logging In<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In order to sign the required form(s) for the student(s), you will need to log in to your account at https:\/\/www.STEMisphere.org\/PRSEF<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n An account was\ncreated for you when the student or their Adult Sponsor added your name to the\nstudent\u2019s profile. You should have\nreceived an email from CSC STEMisphereInfo at <\/a>STEMisphereInfo@CarnegieScienceCenter.Org<\/a> with\ninformation about how to log in. Please\ncheck your junk mail folder if you do not see this email. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Use the link in the\nemail to set your password and log in. If you cannot find the email, navigate\nto https:\/\/www.STEMisphere.org\/PRSEF<\/a> and use the Forgot your Password link to\ngenerate a new email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Accessing Forms<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you have logged\nin, you should see the name(s) of the student(s) whose project(s) you have been\nassigned to and their project title(s). If you have been assigned to more than\none student\u2019s project, you will see them each listed on your screen. For each\nstudent, you should also see a list of forms each designated by a number. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Qualified\nScientist may need to sign Form 2: Qualified Scientist Form, Form 3: Risk\nAssessment Form, Form 5A\/B: Vertebrate Animal Form, Form 6A: Potentially\nHazardous Biological Agents Form, Form 6B: Human and Vertebrate Animal Tissue\nForm and\/or Form 1C: Regulated Research Institution\/Industrial Setting Form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Form Status<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n All forms will remain in Required (red background) or Pending\nCompletion status (yellow background) until the required fields have been\ncompleted and the appropriate signatures have been added successfully. Once the required information and signatures have\nbeen added, the form will be promoted to Ready for Review status (purple). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Filling multiple roles<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are filling more than one role for one student (parent and qualified scientist for example) or if you are filling different roles for different students (designated supervisor for one and qualified scientist for another), you will need to switch between profiles to access all of the applicable forms. To move between profiles, log in and the look to the horizontal menu just below the black and white speckled area. Click on “Registrations \/ Forms” and then on “Manage Role Name<\/em> Forms” to switch to a new role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reviewing the project<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Before you sign any form which has been assigned to you,\nreview the student\u2019s research plan and the responses to the questions on the\nform with them. The research plan should include a rationale (background\nresearch), a research question, a hypothesis, a procedure, a risk analysis, a\nproposed method of data analysis and a bibliography with at least five (5)\nsources. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you are familiar with the project, review the PRSEF\nrulebook and the ISEF rulebook. Both can be found at http:\/\/carnegiesciencecenter.org\/educators\/stemcenter-science-fair-teachers-and-students\/<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n Completing Form 2: Qualified Scientist Form<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This form is to be used by students who are conducting\nresearch conducted in a regulated research institution) and\/or under the\nsupervision of a Qualified Scientist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A regulated research institution is an industrial\nlaboratory, professional research\/teaching institution which is regularly\ninspected by the USDA, college\/university laboratory, hospital or medical center,\nfederal laboratories like those of the NIH, CDC and veteran\u2019s affairs, pharmaceutical\nand biotechnology company laboratory, or research institution that utilizes\nresearch animals that is not covered by the Animal Welfare Act but has an\noperational Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and is in\ncompliance with U.S. federal laws \u2013 not a middle school or high school science\nclassroom or laboratory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The purpose of this form is to collect information about the Qualified Scientist and the regulated research institution, to determine if the project requires pre-approval and additional forms, and to ensure that all parties involved have reviewed and agreed to the rules of the competition. This form must be completed and signed by the Qualified Scientist or Designated Supervisor before the start of student experimentation. The form will remain in Pending Completion status until it has been signed by the Qualified Scientist and, when applicable, the Designated Supervisor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Completing Form 3: Risk Assessment Form<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This form is required for ALL projects regardless of\nthe subject and division. It is designed\nto uncover any risks to the safety of the student or others involved in the\nproject and to ensure that those risks are addressed in a way which ensures the\nsafety of all parties. This form is required for all projects regardless of the\nlevel of risk involved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The student researcher should complete this form. The Qualified Scientist may provide guidance\nand assistance. Encourage the student to\nremember that all activities, and all experiments, involve some risk. \nEven simple everyday activities involve some risk. For example, taking a\nshower in the morning before going to school involves the potential risk of\nburns if the water is too hot or slipping on a wet surface. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If the student has responded \u201cN\/A\u201d or similar to all of the\nquestions, please do not sign the form. The Scientific Review Committee will\nnot approve the project if the form is completed in that manner. Instead, work with the student to approach\nthe question of risk from a position of curiosity. Some risk can be found\nin just about any project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This form will remain in Pending Completion status until all\nrequired signatures are provided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Completing Form 5A\/B: Vertebrate Animals Form<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Form 5A form is required for all research involving\nvertebrate animals conducted in a school\/home\/field<\/strong> research site. \nForm 5B is required for all research involving vertebrate animals conducted in\na regulated research institution<\/strong>. A regulated research institution is an\nindustrial laboratory, professional research\/teaching institution which is\nregularly inspected by the USDA, college\/university laboratory, hospital or\nmedical center, federal laboratories like those of the NIH, CDC and veteran\u2019s\naffairs, pharmaceutical and biotechnology company laboratory, or research\ninstitution that utilizes research animals that is not covered by the Animal\nWelfare Act but has an operational Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee\n(IACUC) and is in compliance with U.S. federal laws. A middle school or high school science\nclassroom or laboratory is not<\/em><\/strong> a regulated research\ninstitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vertebrate animals, as covered by these rules, are defined\nas: 1. Live, nonhuman vertebrate mammalian embryos or fetuses, 2.\nTadpoles, 3. Bird and reptile eggs within three days (72 hours) of\nhatching, 4. All other nonhuman vertebrates (including fish) at hatching or\nbirth. Exception: Because of their delayed cognitive neural development,\nzebrafish embryos are not considered vertebrate animals until 7 days (168\nhours) post- fertilization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As stated in the ISEF rulebook (https:\/\/www.societyforscience.org\/isef\/international-rules\/<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Society for Science & the Public strongly endorses\nthe use of nonanimal research methods and encourages students to use\nalternatives to animal research, which must be explored and discussed in the\nresearch plan. The guiding principles for the use of animals in research\ninclude the following \u201cFour R\u2019s\u201d: <\/p>\n\n\n\n You will need copies of applicable wildlife licenses or\napproval forms and copies of IACUC forms and protocol numbers to complete these\nforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Completing Form 6A: Potentially Hazardous Biological\nAgents Form<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This form is required for all research involving\nmicroorganisms, rDNA, fresh\/frozen tissue (including primary cell lines, human\nand other primate established cell lines and tissue cultures), blood, blood\nproducts and body fluids. Refer to the International Rules for Pre-College\nScience Research: Guidelines for Science and Engineering Fairs at https:\/\/www.societyforscience.org\/isef\/international-rules\/<\/a>\nfor information about applicable rules regarding biosafety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Form 6A must be completed by the Qualified Scientist or Designated\nSupervisor in collaboration with the student researcher(s). All questions are\napplicable and must be answered; additional page(s) may be attached. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Completing Form 6B: Human Vertebrate Animal Tissue Form<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This form is required for all research involving\nfresh\/frozen tissue (including primary cell lines, human and other primate\nestablished cell lines and tissue cultures), blood, blood products and body\nfluids. <\/p>\n\n\n\n