Envisioning Research

Graduate students Amber Hubbard, Taylor Neumann and Minyung Song and Professor Richard Spontak received awards for their entries in the University’s 2019 Envisioning Research contest.

Initiated in 2016 as the NC State Research Image Contest, Envisioning Research was established as a way to demonstrate that images – from photographs to illustrations to movies – can be extremely effective tools for explaining complex research to a wide variety of audiences. And that they can also be beautiful.

In its present form the Contest is a collaborative effort by NC State’s Office of Research and Innovation, the Graduate School, the NC State University Libraries, and University Communications and Marketing. Envisioning Research and is open to all students, faculty, staff and postdoctoral researchers.

The awards are:

Amber Hubbard, Honorable Mention, Postdocs & Grad Students in the Microscopy category for “Hawaiian Hibiscus”

Taylor Neumann, First Place, Postdocs & Grad Students in the Microscopy category for “Liquid Metal Sunset” and Runner Up, Postdocs & Grad Students in the Video & Interactive category for “Liquid Metal Rain”

 

Minyung Song, Runner Up, Postdocs & Grad Students in the category of Video & Interactive for “Voltage-Driven Liquid Metal Flower.”

The images for Liquid Metal Rain and Voltage-driven Liquid Metal Flower are links to the movies.

 

Professor Spontak, Runner Up, Faculty & Staff in the Microscopy category for “Shooting Stars”

Amber, Minyung and Prof. Spontak aren’t strangers to the competition. In 2017, Amber and Sally Van Gorder, former graduate student in the College of Design, won Second Place, Postdocs & Grad Students in the Photography category for their untitled image of two self-folded “cups.”

Prof. Spontak won First Place, Faculty & Staff  in the Microscopy category for “The Fingerprint of Molecules,” and Second Place, Faculty & Staff  in the Graphics and Illustration category for “Plates on Lava.” A complete article about their awards is available here.

In 2018, CBE members dominated…

Amber received Runner Up, Postdocs & Grad Students in the Photography category for “Blooming Lotus”and Runner Up, Postdocs & Grad Students in the Video category for “Curvature in Competition.”

Minyung received Honorable Mention, Postdocs & Grad Students in the Video category for “Blooming Heart.”

Hadel Al Asafen received First Place, Postdocs & Grad Students in the Video category for “Cleavage.”

Robert Epps received Honorable Mention, Postdocs & Grad Students in the Photography category for “Exchange Freeway.”

Dennis Lee received Honorable Mention, Postdocs & Grad Students in the Microscopy category for “Broad-leaved Toxic Chemical Adsorbents on Fibers” and

Austin Williams received Honorable Mention, Postdocs & Grad Students in the Microscopy category for “Spinodal Decomposition”.

Congratulations to all these visionary researchers!