GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The winning artists of images of nanoparticles to a woolly mammoth in the University of Florida Elegance of Science Contest will be recognized in an award ceremony at the Florida Museum of Natural History March 20 at 3:30 p.m.

A committee of six judges from Gainesville’s art and science communities evaluated 94 entries on their scientific and artistic merit.

“I enjoyed seeing the variety of ways you can interpret ‘the elegance of science,’” said judge and professional photographer Kristen Grace, who also works at the Florida Museum. “Some were as simple as a dewdrop on a flower petal and others were as complicated as a microscopic forest made of nickel nanoparticles.”

Florida Museum research technician Zachary Randall won first place for his cleared-and-stained image of a smooth butterfly ray. Graduate research assistant Mohammad Malakooti and undergraduate research assistant John Hunter Spears of the department of mechanical and aerospace engineering won second place for a microscopic image of metal nanostructure titled “Nickel Nanoforest,” while Xavier Moss, an undergraduate majoring in biological illustration, won third place for his drawing of a woolly mammoth skull.

“When we looked at the nickel samples under the scanning electron microscope, we didn’t see the results we expected,” Spears said, “but we simultaneously realized that the structure was beautiful.”

Honorable mentions were awarded to doctoral candidate and dental student Scott W. Harden for his image of human brain neurons, entomology graduate student Michael Bentley for his image of a salt-imbibing butterfly and entomology professor Rudolf H. Scheffrahn of the Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center for his image of microscopic structures in a termite’s gut.

After a three-year hiatus, the Marston Science Library and the Florida Museum resurrected the competition for UF students, staff and faculty who create two-dimensional images as part of their research or that feature scientific tools or concepts. The contest stresses the connection between artistic and scientific perceptions of reality.

Prizes include $150 for first place, $100 for second place and $50 for third place. Following the award ceremony, the Florida Museum will display large prints of the winning entries through May. All 2014 entries may be viewed at http://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/elegance-science/past-entries/2014/.

Open to the public, the award ceremony and brief presentations by contest participants about the science behind their works will be held at Powell Hall, 3215 Hull Road, on the UF campus from 3:30-5 p.m.

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Writer: Katina Prokos, kprokos@flmnh.ufl.edu
Source: Andrei Sourakov, asourakov@flmnh.ufl.edu, 352-273-2013
Media Contact: Paul Ramey, pramey@flmnh.ufl.edu, 352-273-2054