12790-The-Elegance-of-Science-rotatorGAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida Elegance of Science art competition is now accepting submissions until Dec. 20 for work that emphasizes the connection between artistic and scientific perceptions of reality.

Organized by the Marston Science Library and Florida Museum of Natural History, the contest is open to UF students, staff and faculty who create two-dimensional images as part of their research or incorporate scientific tools or concepts in their artwork.

The contest aims to teach the community about science in a casual way while bridging gaps between people from diverse disciplines across campus, said Andrei Sourakov, a collection coordinator at the Florida Museum’s McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity and one of the event organizers.

Florida Museum of Natural History research technician Zachary Randall won first place for his cleared-and-stained image of a smooth butterfly ray.
Florida Museum of Natural History research technician Zachary Randall won first place in the 2014 Elegance of Science contest for his cleared-and-stained image of a smooth butterfly ray.

“In these days of high-tech imaging, researchers in many fields routinely produce intriguing images that are also aesthetically beautiful,” Sourakov said. “The contest challenges not only to recognize that beauty, but also to describe an image so that a layperson would become interested in the science behind it.”

Each participant may submit a maximum of five entries, which must be high resolution and accompanied by no more than a 150-word description on the artistic, scientific and educational value of the image. Descriptions should be written for a high school reading level.

Prizes include $150 for first place, $100 for second place and $50 for third place.

Entries will be independently and anonymously evaluated by a panel of judges from Gainesville’s science and art communities, who will determine the winning entries based on scientific and artistic merit.

Artwork must be original, created by the contestant and submitted using the official entry form. All contestants retain copyright for submitted entries.

Winners will be announced in February 2016 and this year’s reception and awards ceremony will take place at the Marston Science Library. At the end of the contest, participants have the opportunity to share their work in a single online forum and present their topics.

For more information on contest rules or to view past entries, visit www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/elegance-science/overview.

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Writer: Maria Espinoza, PRintern@flmnh.ufl.edu
Sources: Andrei Sourakov asourakov@flmnh.ufl.edu; Amy Buhler, amybuhl@uflib.ufl.edu
Media contact: Paul Ramey, 352-273-2054, pramey@flmnh.ufl.edu