The Elegance of Science 2008

1st Place: Urania Kaleidoscope, Andrei Sourakov
2nd Place: Discovering Connections in the Brain, William L. Conte and Roger L. Reep
3rd Place: Release, Kim A. Fitzgerald
Honorable Mention: The Beauty in the Bottle, Huaizhi Kang
Staff Choice: Building Block, Kimberly A. Fitzgerald
Staff Choice: Rise of the Winter Fairies, Romain Stalder

–Click thumbnails to view the full-size image and artist’s statement–

  • fractal image of butterfly wing
    1st Place: Urania Kaleidoscope, Andrei Sourakov
  • rat brain tissue
    2nd Place: Discovering Connections in the Brain, William L. Conte and Roger L. Reep
  • artistic interpretation of receptors in the human body
    3rd Place: Release, Kim A. Fitzgerald
  • bottle under UV light
    Honorable Mention: The Beauty in the Bottle, Huaizhi Kang
  • painting of molecule to look like a mandala
    Staff Choice: Building Block, Kimberly A. Fitzgerald
  • ice crystals that look like fairies
    Staff Choice: Rise of the Winter Fairies, Romain Stalder
  • barracuda from below
    The Oceanic Butcher, Adrian Stier
  • Prickly Pear seastar
    A Prickly Pear, Adrian Stier
  • photo of a distant galaxy
    Distant Images - The Cluster Lens SDSS1004, Alison Klesman
  • magnified gerbera daisy tissue
    Vascular Structure of Gerbera Jamesonii, Amy Alexander
  • magnification of gerbera daisy vessels
    Vascular structure of Gerbera jamesonii, Amy Alexander
  • magnification of gerbera daisy vessels
    Vascular structure of Gerbera jamesonii, Amy Alexander
  • magnification of gerbera daisy vessels
    Vascular structure of Gerbera jamesonii, Amy Alexander
  • Gulf Fritillary butterfly
    Gulf Fritillary Kaleidoscope, Andrei Sourakov
  • fractal image of butterfly wing
    Eye of the Sphinx, Andrei Sourakov
  • composite of five insect photos
    Diversity of Insects, Andrei Sourakov
  • butterfly egg shell
    Egg-shell, Andrei Sourakov
  • stylized painting of orchids
    Flower Morphology, Andrew Taylor
  • image of a gallaxy
    The Bullet Cluster, Anthony Gonzalez
  • colored liquid dropped into water
    Water Jet in Water, Anuj Chauhan
  • dyed mouse embryo
    Blue Fate, Ashley Seifert
  • mouse embryo
    Beginnings, Ashley Seifert
  • mouse embryo lungs
    The Breath of Life, Ashley Siefert & Malcolm Maden
  • Life after Death at Terrapin Station, Benjamin K. Atkinson
    Life after Death at Terrapin Station, Benjamin K. Atkinson
  • magnified alligator tissue
    One of these things is not like the others..., Brandon Moore and Kelly Hyndman
  • imagined molecules on a photo of a diver
    Molecular Jellyfish, Christos Lampropoulos
  • molecule over gold colored
    Reinventing Gold, Christos Lampropoulos
  • art using light to re-imagine air masses
    Temperature Inversion, Corene Matyas
  • Alligator lung tissue with bacteria
    Champion Cell, Dr. Daniel Brown's Lab
  • laser mark on silicone surface
    Silicon Valley, Dan Shelby
  • magnified blueberry ovule
    Blueberry Ovule, Dario Chavez
  • magnified blueberry pollen
    Blueberry Pollen Tetrads, Dario Chavez
  • magnified grain of pollen
    Microscopic Lacework, David MacArthur Jarzen
  • magnified moth larva
    Ragweed Plume Moth Larval Setae, Deborah Matthews Lott
  • magnifies moth head
    Sundew Plume Moth Head, Deborah Matthews Lott
  • magnified cells and parasitic infection
    Overwhelmed, Donna Williams
  • magnified nematode and parasites
    Parasitism Squared, Donna Williams
  • magnified pollen shaped like a heart
    Happy Valentine's Day!, Donna Williams
  • gas in a galaxy
    The Galactic Fountain, Elizabeth Tasker
  • gas density in a simulated galaxy
    The Invisible Galaxy, Elizabeth Tasker & Jonathan Tan
  • study of gas in a galaxy
    The Violent Galaxy, Elizabeth Tasker & Jonathan Tan
  • red and blue flames
    Playing With Fire, Emilio Cagmat
  • green flame in darkness
    Green Flame, Emilio Cagmat
  • red, green, and blue flame
    Fireworks, Emilio Cagmat
  • Creation and Destruction: The Development of the Chicken Embryonic Membranes, Jacob Fyda
    Creation and Destruction: The Development of the Chicken Embryonic Membranes, Jacob Fyda
  • magnification of protein crystals
    Microscopic Gems, Jason Kwan
  • tiny fungus
    'Hydra-thecium', Jeff Rollins
  • neural waveforms measuring smell sense
    Waveform, Jordan Robson
  • composite image of sediment in a liquid
    Cascading Breakup of a Sedimenting Drop of Rodlike Particles, Joontaek Park & Jason E. Butler
  • composite of magnified oxidization
    Atomic Ordering on Solid Surfaces, Jason Weaver & Jose Hinojosa
  • Oxygen Atoms on a Metal Surface
    Ordering of Oxygen Atoms on a Metal Surface, Jose Hinojosa & Jason Weaver
  • Oxide Chain Network
    Oxide Chain Network, Jose Hinojosa & Jason Weaver
  • magnification that is shaped like an angel
    Angels in the EM field, Karen Chamusco
  • Diplo, Kimberly A. Fitzgerald
    Diplo, Kimberly A. Fitzgerald
  • painting imagining magnified tissues
    Starry Starry Fright, Kimberly A. Fitzgerald
  • painting interpreting cells
    Phospholipid Bilayer, Kimberly A. Fitzgerald
  • 3-D interpretation of the Big Bang
    The Bang, Lance Legel
  • magnified animal neuronal cells
    Animal Neuronal Cells, Lan Hoang-Minh
  • magnified rat brain tissue
    Substantia Nigra, Lan Hoang-Minh
  • rat brain tissue
    Adult Neurogenesis in the Hippocampus, Lan Hoang-Minh
  • human chest with pacemaker lithograph
    The Human Heart, Lauren D'Apuzzo
  • The Integrity of Creativity (I), Muzammil A. Arain & Luke F. Williams
    The Integrity of Creativity (I), Muzammil A. Arain & Luke F. Williams
  • Art interpreting the research process
    The Integrity of Creativity (II), Muzammil A. Arain & Luke F. Williams
  • Poinsettia - The Christmas Plant, Marijka Willis
    Poinsettia - The Christmas Plant, Marijka Willis
  • white and pink poinsettia flowers
    Poinsettias - The Pastels, Marijka Willis
  • Red poinsettia flowers
    Bright Burgundy Poinsettias, Marijka Willis
  • landscape of Stone Mountain
    Life For Granite, Marijka Willis
  • red crystal cluster
    Red Iron, Matt F. Dumont
  • red crystallization of solvent
    Three Trees and One Pond, Matt F. Dumont
  • red crystallization of solvent
    Iron Savanna, Matt Dumont
  • Pipettes with blue fluid
    Pasteur Pipettes No. 5, Matt F. Dumont
  • red crystallization of solvent
    Inorganic Coral Reef, Matt F. Dumont
  • swarm of bacteria
    The Swarm, Mengsheng Gao
  • data from a storm
    Three Dimensional Discharging Structure of a Mountain Thunderstorm Michael Holborn
  • data chart from storm
    Three Dimensional Discharging Structure of a Mountain Thunderstorm, Michael Holborn
  • data from a storm
    Three Dimensional Discharging Structure of a Mountain Thunderstorm, Michael Holborn
  • data from a storm
    Three Dimensional Discharging Structure of a Mountain Thunderstorm, Michael Holborn
  • storm data
    Three Dimensional Discharging Structure of a Mountain Thunderstorm, Michael Holborn
  • macro photo of small device on paper money for scale
    Looking into the Future of Shear Stress Measurements, Miguel Palaviccini
  • student built model aircraft
    The InvestiGator, Miguel Palaviccini
  • photo of work on velocity experiment
    Particle Image Velocimetry, Miguel Palaviccini
  • Aeroacoustic Flow Facility
    Aeroacoustic Flow Facility, Miguel Palaviccini
  • grapevine beetle
    Pelidnota Punctata, Natasha Wright
  • African seed bug
    Dieuches armatipes, Natasha Wright
  • stained alligator tissue
    Immunofluorescence Staining for Mycoplasma Infection in Alligator Tissue, Niora Fabian
  • magnified alligator tissue
    Immunofluorescence Staining for Mycoplasma Infection in Alligator Tissue, Niora Fabian
  • magnification of alligator tissue
    Immunofluorescence Staining for Mycoplasma Infection in Alligator Tissue, Niora Fabian
  • magnified alligator tissue
    Immunofluorescence Staining for Mycoplasma Infection in Alligator Tissue, Niora Fabian
  • composite of several micro-structure surfaces
    Natural symmetry of the ternary eutectic, Orlando Rios
  • 'UF' letters made by nanomaterial
    UF, Ou Chen & Dan Shelby
  • pupa of the monarch butterfly
    Danaus plexippus Pupa, Pablo Sebastián Padrón
  • monarch butterfly
    Danaus plexippus Adult, Pablo Sebastián Padrón
  • monarch caterpillar
    Danaus plexippus Larva, Pablo Sebastián Padrón
  • red flower of Tropical Sage
    Tropical Sage, Pablo Sebastián Padrón
  • glass tubes over chemistry notes
    I Have Found the Solution, Phillip Shelton
  • colorfully illuminated cultured cells
    A Vivid Peacock on a Dark Night, Sunitha Rangaraju, Irina Madorsky, & Doug Smith
  • magnification of synthesized material
    Dancing in a Crystal-Clear Sky, Romain Stalder
  • Black Stink Bug Parasite
    Black Stink Bug Parasite Trichopoda spp., Russ Mizell
  • red algae magnified
    Bioprospecting for Sustainable Energy Solutions: Oil from Algae, Scott J. Edmundson
  • satellite image of flood plane
    Moon River, Siripon Kamontum
  • dragonfly wing base
    Flight Machine, Spencer Ingley
  • magnified damselfly wings
    The Rotors, Spencer Ingley
  • magnified claspers of a damselfly
    Claspers, Spencer Ingley
  • macro of a dragonfly head
    Dewy Dragon, Spencer Ingley
  • magnified damsel fly
    Tremor Beast, Spencer Ingley
  • artistic rendition of polymer
    Chemically Insular, Stephen A. Miller
  • smart windows device shaped like a butterfly
    "Butterfly" Multicolor Smart Window Device, Svetlana V. Vasilyeva
  • long spiral of orchid flower
    Nodding Lady's Tresses (Spiranthes cernua), Tim Johnson
  • magnified eye tissue
    Macula Eye Tissue via Mass Spectrometry, Orange and Green Iterations, Timothy J. Garrett
  • interpretive art of bacteria
    Beginning, Valentina Grajales
  • re-imagined landscapes from overlaying images
    Wonder, Valentina Grajales
  • illustration of new flower
    Scientific illustration of Calycogonium formonense (Melastomataceae), Walter S. Judd
  • rat brain tissue
    The Eyes of the Thalamus, William L. Conte and Roger L. Reep
  • rat brain tissue
    Labelling Patterns of Thalamocortical Connections in the Rat Brain, William L. Conte and Roger L. Reep
  • adult human stem cells
    Adult Stem Cell Implantation, William L. Conte and Steven N. Roper
  • magnified molybdenum disulfide
    Surface of Solid Lubricant, Xueying Zhao