The contest, organized by the Office of Research Advancement, gives people an opportunity to share the beauty of science through photographs and images that describe some aspect of research captured visually.

“I’ve been so impressed by the quality and variety of the submissions to this contest,” says Martha Terry, creative services manager and coordinator of the competition. “It’s always interesting to see the entries as they come in. We have had stunning photos taken during people’s field work, but also amazing images from microscopes. If I had to pick a favorite from last year, it would be Pavel Masek’s Thermal Fly image.”

In 2020, there will be two categories:

• The World Around Us: images in which the subject is visible to the naked eye
• Visualizing the Unseen: images captured with the use of optics that extend beyond what the eye can see, such as microscopes and telescopes, or models of scientific phenomena or processes or interpretations of scientific information

Images will be evaluated based on scientific significance, originality and artistic and visual impact. This year’s judges are Jocelyn Bailey, account director at Idea Kraft; Steve Czarnecki, associate director of S3IP; Madhuri Govindaraju, UI designer/developer in University Communications and Marketing; undergraduate Jake Kerr; Claire Kovacs, curator of collections and exhibitions for the Binghamton University Art Museum; and Alexsa Silva, director of instruction and outreach in the Chemistry Department.

This year’s top prize will be a new iPad.

Entries, due Feb. 24, must have been created in 2017 or later in connection with research at Binghamton University. Winners will be announced at a reception during Research Days in April. For entry guidelines and more details, visit https://research.binghamton.edu/events/researchdays/artofscience.php.

Jin, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering, submitted an image called “Plates” that featured petri dishes of different species of fungi. She and her colleagues are exploring whether fungi could be used as a self-healing agent to promote calcium mineral precipitation to fill the cracks in concrete.

The image took first place in “The World Around Us,” a category featuring subjects visible to the naked eye, and was named Best in Show as well.

Students, faculty and staff also competed in two other categories: “Visualizing the Unseen,” images captured with the use of optics that extend beyond what the eye can see, such as microscopes and telescopes; and “Imagining Science,” images that depict objects too small to be visualized directly, models of scientific phenomena or processes or interpretations of scientific information.

The second-annual competition was coordinated by Martha Terry, creative services manager in the Office of Research Advancement. Winners were announced during Binghamton Research Days.

Second- and third-place recognition in “The World Around Us” also went to faculty members: Chengbin Deng, assistant professor of geography, took second with “Nighttime Binghamton University Campus,” while Jessica Fridrich, professor of electrical and computer engineering, took third place with “Eclipse.”

In “Imagining science,” first place went to Alex J. Feingold, professor of mathematical sciences, for “Amzakoe Genus 3 Triple Link,” while Sara Grills took both second and third place for stratigraphy images related to her work for the Public Archaeology Facility, where she is a project manager.

“Visualizing the Unseen,” meanwhile, was dominated by an undergraduate who designed his own major. First- and second-place honors went to Zachariah P. Liebmann, who entered images he took while studying organic matter and how it presents itself under ultraviolet light.

Third place in that category went to graduate student Tong Yang and her mentor, Jeffrey Mativetsky, assistant professor of physics. Their image, “Alien Tunnels,” was captured with an optical microscope and featured crystals formed by depositing and drying an “ink” composed of organic semiconducting molecules dissolved in a solvent.

This year’s judges were Surinder Kahai, associate professor, School of Management; Blazo Kovacevic, assistant professor of art and design; Matt Mendelsohn ’85, photojournalist, portrait photographer and writer; Kevin E. Paredes ’18, photography editor, Pipe Dream; Pamela Smart, associate professor of art history/anthropology; and Ewelina Zajac-Holdrege, founder and creative director, Idea Kraft.

See a slideshow featuring all of this year’s entries online at https://youtu.be/vQIx8bTDkiI.

Mclauchlin, a rising senior at Binghamton University, grabbed the attention of Jessica Hua, an assistant professor of biological sciences, not only with his scientific background but also with his art portfolio.

With guidance from Hua, Mclauchlin created an interactive art exhibit with 20 pieces ranging from a painting of tadpoles to a papier-mâché organism. The project explored art’s influence on perception of research.

“It was a combination of two studies actually,” says Mclauchlin, an environmental studies and graphic design major. “We not only tested for perception of research, but also for comprehension and retention of information in the exhibit.”

Perception of research was measured by a pre-quiz and follow-up quiz. In total there were around 80 participants from both scientific and non-scientific backgrounds. Participants without scientific backgrounds had a 20 percent increase in research interest after attending the exhibit, and scientifically inclined participants had a 10 percent increase.

On the other hand, Hua’s ecology students experienced no change in perception of scientific research. The students even decreased in retention of information in a follow-up quiz one week later. Most students retained information better after reading scientific abstracts instead.

“This suggests that art can facilitate scientific appreciation and is most influential for individuals with non-scientific backgrounds,” Mclauchlin says. “I can see this information being used for science museums, exhibits or by scientists who want to communicate their research to the public.”

Mclauchlin aims to create a larger, more cohesive exhibit in the future, with more diversified participants in the study. For the learning and retention aspect of the exhibit, he plans to administer more follow-up quizzes to the ecology classes, in order to analyze memory at varying times of the day and amounts of time after the exhibit.

Understanding the influence of different mediums could be important for the future of science communication, especially in a time where there is a divide between the scientific and non-scientific world.

Vanessa Wuerthner, a doctoral student in Hua’s lab, says Mclauchlin brings something to the lab that no other student does: He turns research from the lab into art. “Ben puts in an immense amount of time and effort in making art pieces that he then brings together at art shows that are open to the public,” she says. “All of his artistic efforts allow the lab to really bridge the gap between the science community and the local community.”

Mclauchlin received a Summer Scholars and Artists fellowship to conduct research on marine debris and plastics in Binghamton this summer. He spends his time outside of the lab volunteering in the Nature Preserve, attending Ballroom Dance Club and participating in the Hinman Production Company, a student-run theater group.

Mclauchlin says he tries to balance his workload each semester with half science courses and half art courses.

Hua says she was impressed by Mclauchlin’s range of skills. “Ben is very creative, and his willingness to help others makes him an asset to the lab,” Hua says. “It could be 1 a.m., and he’ll be the first person to offer help to another student in the lab.”