2008 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge Winners Announced

Seeing the world of science through a photographer's lens or through other forms of media can dazzle the imagination.

In the winning entries of the 2008 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge, sponsored jointly by the journal Science and the National Science Foundation (NSF), breathtaking photographs and graphics often reveal intricate details of our world—the three-dimensional path made by a rapidly spinning string cutting through space and the unique anatomy of the half-meter-long Loligo peale squid whose tiny suckers are 400-micrometers in diameter.

"I wanted to reveal the tiny world we trample through, creating scenes that at first glance parallel to our macroscopic world, until you look a little closer," said Colleen Champ, a first-place winner with Dennis Kunkel in the Informational Graphics category. "The 'Mad Hatter's Tea' is one scene from many, depicting a quote from the fanciful mind of Lewis Carroll," she added. This scene will be featured on the cover of the 26 September issue of the journal Science.

Kunkel said he appreciates that with artistic license, science and art can be combined in an exciting way. "Science and NSF are rewarding scientists with their visual works in this international competition," said Monica M. Bradford, executive editor of the journal Science. "We appreciate their results and encourage others to participate."

Currently in its sixth year, the international competition honors artists who use visual media to promote understanding of scientific research. The criteria for judging the entries included visual impact, effective communications, freshness, and originality.

The winning entries communicate information about the creation of spontaneous buckling of a poly(ethylene glycol) layer resembling wrinkles that appear on flowers' petals and leaves' edges; the 3D rendering, at nanometer resolution, of a melanoma cell through ion abrasion electron microscopy; the display of microbial biofilm from a stream, explaining its role within the stream's micro-ecosystem; and more.

To view the winning entries, visit Science's 2008 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge Web page.

The 2008 winning entries are included in the following five categories:

PHOTOGRAPHY

First Place:
Mario De Stefano, The 2nd University of Naples
The Glass Forest

Honorable Mentions (tie):
Andrew Davidhazy, Rochester Institute of Technology
String Vibrations

Jessica D. Schiffman and Caroline L. Schauer; Drexel University
Squid Suckers: The Little Monsters That Feed the Beast

Ye Jin Eun and Douglas B. Weibel; University of Wisconsin-Madison
Polymazing

ILLUSTRATION

First Place:
Linda Nye and the Exploratorium Visualization Laboratory; The Exploratorium
Zoom Into the Human Bloodstream

Honorable Mentions (tie):
Chris Harrison, Carnegie Mellon University; Christoph Römhild, North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church
Visualizing the Bible

Donald Bliss and Sriram Subramaniam; National Library of Medicine, NIH
3D Imaging of Mammalian Cells with Ion-Abrasion Scanning Electron Microscopy

INFORMATIONAL GRAPHICS

First Place:
Colleen Champ and Dennis Kunkel; Concise Image Studios
"Mad Hatter's Tea" from Alice's Adventures in a Microscopic Wonderland

Honorable Mention:
Andrew Dopheide and Gillian Lewis; University of Auckland
Stream Micro-Ecology: Life in a Biofilm

INTERACTIVE MEDIA

First Place:
Jeremy Friedberg and Tommy Sors; Spongelab Interactive
Genomics Digital Lab: Plant Cells

Honorable Mention:
Janet Iwasa; Massachusetts General Hospital
Exploring Life's Origins

NON-INTERACTIVE MEDIA

Honorable Mentions (tie):
Travis Vermilye and Kenneth Eward
A Window Into Life

Mirjam Kaplow and Katharina Strohmeier; Fraunhofer FIRST
Smarter than the Worm

Etsuko Uno and Drew Berry; The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research
Fighting Infection by Clonal Selection

Natasha Pinol

25 September 2008