FAQs
What is the North American Laboratory Freezer Challenge?
The North American Laboratory Freezer Challenge (Freezer Challenge) is a competition designed to promote best practices in cold storage management. The Freezer Challenge covers all forms of cold storage, including refrigerators, freezers, and cold rooms. Labs participating in the challenge will be asked to submit an online score sheet.
Who can participate in the Freezer Challenge?
Any laboratories in North America can participate by signing up at freezerchallenge.org. Laboratories are defined as a group of people and their physical space working under one manager, researcher, or scientific mission.
When will the Freezer Challenge take place?
The Freezer Challenge will start in January 2017 and continue through May 2017. Freezer Challenge registrations are due before midnight PST on January 31, 2017, and online Freezer Challenge Score Sheets will be due by midnight PST on May 1, 2017. Labs are encouraged to work at their own pace during the intervening months to complete the challenge.
What are the benefits of participating in the Freezer Challenge?
Freezer Challenge participants will benefit from:
How is the Freezer Challenge scored?
Labs will receive points for taking the actions listed under 'The Challenge' part of the website. These actions can also be found in detail in the PDF version of the score sheet. Each action is worth 1 point, and points will be tallied to determine the final score.
Will there be awards?
Yes! Awards will be given to individual institutions based on the total number of points (Everest Award), and the total number of points per number of refrigeration units (Denali Award). Institutional awards reward those organizations that have encouraged the most labs to make the greatest difference during this challenge.
Awards will also be given to individual laboratories who score the most points per number of refrigeration units. Lab awards reward those labs who have made the greatest effort to improve their sample management and reduce the impact of their cold storage methods. Lab winners will be published in Nature and will receive a coffee maker and Freezer Challenge mugs.
The North American Laboratory Freezer Challenge (Freezer Challenge) is a competition designed to promote best practices in cold storage management. The Freezer Challenge covers all forms of cold storage, including refrigerators, freezers, and cold rooms. Labs participating in the challenge will be asked to submit an online score sheet.
Who can participate in the Freezer Challenge?
Any laboratories in North America can participate by signing up at freezerchallenge.org. Laboratories are defined as a group of people and their physical space working under one manager, researcher, or scientific mission.
When will the Freezer Challenge take place?
The Freezer Challenge will start in January 2017 and continue through May 2017. Freezer Challenge registrations are due before midnight PST on January 31, 2017, and online Freezer Challenge Score Sheets will be due by midnight PST on May 1, 2017. Labs are encouraged to work at their own pace during the intervening months to complete the challenge.
What are the benefits of participating in the Freezer Challenge?
Freezer Challenge participants will benefit from:
- Reducing energy consumption, costs, and environmental impact of the lab
- Learning and applying proper cold storage maintenance techniques to help avoid future failures
- Removal of unneeded or unviable samples from cold storage units, allowing space to be consolidated or eliminated.
- Reduced costs associated with maintaining extraneous cold storage units.
- Improved researcher access to and security for viable samples.
- Development of ongoing cold storage management practices that support efficiency and maximize lab space utility.
- Participation recognition and awards and prizes
How is the Freezer Challenge scored?
Labs will receive points for taking the actions listed under 'The Challenge' part of the website. These actions can also be found in detail in the PDF version of the score sheet. Each action is worth 1 point, and points will be tallied to determine the final score.
Will there be awards?
Yes! Awards will be given to individual institutions based on the total number of points (Everest Award), and the total number of points per number of refrigeration units (Denali Award). Institutional awards reward those organizations that have encouraged the most labs to make the greatest difference during this challenge.
Awards will also be given to individual laboratories who score the most points per number of refrigeration units. Lab awards reward those labs who have made the greatest effort to improve their sample management and reduce the impact of their cold storage methods. Lab winners will be published in Nature and will receive a coffee maker and Freezer Challenge mugs.
What is the Freezer Challenge registration deadline?
Online registration for participating in the Freezer Challenge must be completed by midnight PST Friday, January 31, 2017.
When will the Freezer Challenge Score Sheets be available?
A PDF version of the score sheet is available for download here. Online score sheets will be made available to participating labs starting on January 15, 2017.
When must Freezer Challenge Score Sheets be completed?
Online Freezer Challenge Score Sheets must be completed by midnight PDT May 1, 2017.
Our lab has already done a lot of the actions listed on the score sheet - will we be awarded points for previous actions taken?
Yes! The Freezer Challenge rewards both existing best practices and the adoption of new best practices.
I accidentally submitted my score sheet before it was completed - help!
No problem! Email us and we will send you a link to a new one.
What is the difference between a freezer farm and an equipment room?
An equipment room is a separate space, usually off of the main lab, dedicated to housing lab equipment. It may or may not contain only refrigeration units, and it is usually just one room, although a lab may have multiple rooms like this. A freezer farm is a space whose sole purpose is to house freezers (ULTs and -20s). A freezer farm is typically much larger than one room, and usually dozens of freezers belonging to multiple labs. Freezer farms are often located in basements of buildings, and contain freezers that do not need to be regularly accessed.
Who do I contact if I have additional questions?
All questions should be directed to info@mygreenlab.org.
