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Art of Science Contest

 

The Art of Science contest is a celebration of the aesthetic side of scientific research. It invites UC San Diego researchers to submit original works stemming from their scientific inquiries. These submissions are more than just images; they are gateways to understanding the wonders of science. 

UC San Diego students, postdocs, faculty, and project scientists are invited to submit images, graphics, and descriptions related to their research that explains their work in a way that is both engaging and accessible to non-scientists.

Contest Timeline

    • Submissions: February 12 - April 5, 2024
    • Judging and Community Voting: April 15 - May 3, 2024
    • Winners notified: May 13, 2024
    • Exhibit Opens at Geisel Library: Fall 2024
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  • SUBMIT

Prizes and Recognition

  • Each winning image in the four participant categories (undergraduate, graduate, postdoc, and faculty) will receive a cash prize of $75. Additionally, there's an open voting category where the winning image is chosen by members of our Triton community and the public.
  • Winning images will be exhibited at the Exhibition Gallery at Geisel Library.
  • Judge-selected images:
    • One winner from each participant category (undergraduate, graduate, postdoc, and faculty/project scientist) will receive a $75 prepaid Visa card.
    • Up to three honorable mentions (no monetary award).
  • Open voting selection (crowd nominated favorite): $75 prepaid Visa card.

Winning images will also be exhibited in Spotlight, the Library’s digital exhibit platform. All submissions will be preserved in the Library's Digital Collections repository. 

What Can Be Submitted

For undergraduates: Submissions can be based on research conducted during course, laboratory, or formal research projects.

For graduate students, postdocs, and faculty/project scientists: Submissions should be original research outputs based on original research conducted in residence at or in affiliation with UC San Diego.

Photographs, microscope images, illustrations, visual depictions of complex datasets, the result of modeling and simulation, combined images, and creative representations of your work. Images may be modified to enhance their aesthetic, such as combining multiple images into one artistic work.

  • For instance, those whose work is highly theoretical or conceptually challenging may wish to design a novel visual metaphor to make it more accessible.
  • Photographs may be of instrumentation, apparati, devices or other objects used in your scientific investigation.
  • Photographs of original art or three-dimensional physical models or representations are also eligible as long as they depict your original science or mathematics research.

Submission Guidelines

  • Include a title, a one-line caption that tantalizes audiences, inspiring them to learn more about the research and communicates the science in clear, concise language that is accessible to non-scientists, and a description.
  • Accepted file formats: jpg, gif, tif, or png.
  • Image minimum width and height: 2160 px x 2160 px
  • Images cannot contain any personally identifiable information.
  • UC San Diego and UC San Diego affiliated undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral and faculty researchers are eligible to participate.
  • One submission per participant or team.

Judging

A panel of judges composed of faculty members, senior academic staff, and administrators will review all eligible entries.

Evaluation Criteria

  • Image: aesthetic excellence (captivating, stunning, and/or otherwise visually interesting) as well as scientific or technical interest.
  • Caption: the one-line caption should tantalize audiences, inspiring them to learn more about the research. It should use clear, concise language that is accessible to non-scientists.

A small group of UC San Diego Library administrators will tally votes and, in cases where the judge’s nominations do not coalesce around a clear winner, they will select one from among the top candidates.

Open Voting

Anyone with a PollUnit Art of Science contest link can vote for a single favorite image. The image with the most number of “likes” will be designated as the Open Voting winner.

To view past contest winners, visit the Art of Science Con digital exhibit at https://exhibits.ucsd.edu/starlight/artofscience.

Please direct questions about the contest to Abigail Pennington at apennington@ucsd.edu.

Previous page, Explore section, Art of Science image: Adi Khen, "Bigeye Octopus Suckers," Open Voting Winner (2021).