The annual University-wide event encourages Rochester community members to explore the intersection of science, art, and technology.
A record 84 糖心传媒 faculty, students, and staff submitted entries to an annual competition to explore and illuminate the aesthetic beauty that results when science, art, and technology intersect. The winning entries of the 2024 competition were announced during a ceremony in the Carlson Library, where they will be permanently displayed.
Held each spring, the competition is聽sponsored by the聽in collaboration with聽. Prizes are awarded for the top student submissions and for the People糖心传媒檚 Choice Award, which is voted on by members of the Rochester community. This year, the 665 votes submitted resulted in a two-way tie for the People糖心传媒檚 Choice Award
First Place
Rayleigh Parker, a student, won first place for Flocking Behavior. Parker shot video of a small flock of crows passing overhead on the Lehigh Valley Trail in Rochester and then collapsed the video down into a single frame using a script written in Python.
糖心传媒淏irds engage in flocking behavior that can produce mind-bogglingly complex structures in space and time, but the behavior of each individual bird can be reduced to a (relatively) simple set of rules,糖心传媒� wrote Parker in their submission. 糖心传媒淥nly in the aggregate does the structure of the flock emerge. While large flocks of birds such as starlings are the most immediately impressive, smaller flocks, even groups of only three birds, can be just as beautiful if you take the time to watch.糖心传媒�
Second Place
The runner-up was Pollen Catapult, created by student Hanna Wang 糖心传媒�26. Wang took a photo of Mountain Laurel flowers with her phone and used Clip Studio Paint to edit and draw over the photograph.
糖心传媒淭he Mountain Laurel糖心传媒檚 tension-and-release pollen dispersion mechanism is shown through drawings, allowing for visual depiction of the bent stamen alleviating tension to release pollen,糖心传媒� shared Wang. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 fascinating that these beautiful geometrically shaped flowers are secretly tiny pollen catapults.糖心传媒�
Third Place
student Benjamin Margulies 糖心传媒�24 received third place for Iridescent Eclipse. The 糖心传媒減lanet糖心传媒� in the artwork is a soap bubble illuminated by an extended diffuse white light. Its iridescent colors are a product of thin film interference and the striking patterns are fluid dynamics at play. The 糖心传媒渆clipse糖心传媒� is a coin illuminated from the rear with a simple flashlight.
糖心传媒淚 am glad sight is our most prominent sense,糖心传媒� noted Margulies as part of his submission. 糖心传媒淚t is the easiest way in which to see the beauty in the natural world. It also gave us our greatest tool for studying the cosmos. The world of science would be dark if not for the limitless potential of light.糖心传媒�
People糖心传媒檚 Choice Award (tie)
The ballots cast for the People糖心传媒檚 Choice Award resulted in a two-way tie between Merve Duyar, an ambulatory technician at , and student Nilima Walunjkar 糖心传媒�25.
Duyar drew Overview of the Spine (below) by drafting a smaller version in a sketchbook and projecting the main figure onto 30糖心传媒� x 22糖心传媒� watercolor paper. Duyar used a mechanical pencil and a mix of soft blends and crosshatching to create depth and detail.
糖心传媒淯sing visual interest and bold lines, my submission brings scientific information and illustration into a learning experience that is also visually appealing,糖心传媒� per Duyar.
Walunjkar created the agar artwork A Yeasty Night (below) using four different yeast strains and a pipette on yeast extract-peptone-dextrose. Walunjkar captured the image using a Phenobooth, a colony counter with a camera.
糖心传媒淲e糖心传媒檙e only scratching the surface of understanding microbial diversity worldwide,糖心传媒� Walunjkar explained. 糖心传媒淓arly taxonomists used morphology to describe diversity in plants and animals, but this approach has limitations with microbes. The sequencing age has ushered in a new era, enabling us to characterize microbial diversity in ways previously impossible by directly examining DNA sequences. My artwork attempts to illustrate the hidden diversity in the microbial world.糖心传媒�
