Research

Submissions now open for annual Materials Visualization Competition

“Indium Selenide Pyramids and Mesas on Epitaxial Graphene,” submitted by Brian Bersch, a doctoral student in materials science and engineering, won the Best of Show in 2018. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

The 11th annual Materials Visualization Competition (MVC11), a scientific visual and artistic competition, is now accepting submissions. The deadline for submissions is April 5.

The MVC was created to celebrate the quality of research in materials at Penn State. The goal of the competition is to increase awareness of materials science through the creativity and visualization of the researchers. Competition is open to all Penn State faculty, graduate students, undergraduate students and postdoctoral scholars working on materials-related topics.

Judging criteria

MVC is sponsored by Penn State's Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MatSE) and the Materials Research Institute (MRI). A panel from MatSE and MRI will judge the images.

Cash prizes will be awarded to the best in show, plus the first, second and third place winners in each category.

Images can be entered in three categories:

  1. Scientific
  2. Visual
  3. Computation/modeling

Images in the scientific category should be submitted in their purest form. Images may be cropped and adjusted for exposure/contrast but should otherwise not be altered/retouched.

Images in the visual category should be visually compelling and may be altered to enhance the work. Examples of acceptable enhancement include altering color, cropping, adjusting saturation or contrast, and adding color to black and white images. The final work should maintain the scientific integrity of the original.

Images in the computation/modeling category are meant to convey the power of simulation and modeling software to demonstrate materials and materials systems. They should be computer-generated and visually appealing with a message for the viewer.

Full details regarding image submission, participation guidelines and awards can be found online at https://www.matse.psu.edu/materials-visualization-competition-MVC.

Last Updated March 20, 2019

Contact