Plenty of Beauty at the Bottom
The NNCI Image Contest 2024
In honor of National Nanotechnology Day, October 9th, the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) hosted our annual Plenty of Beauty at the Bottom image contest. Referencing Richard Feynman’s 1959 lecture, "There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom," this image contest celebrates the beauty of the micro and nanoscale. Images featured in this contest were produced at one of the 16 NNCI sites during the past two years. Click on the categories below to see all of the images and learn about the research. Voting opened September 20, 2024, at 6AM EST and closed on September 27, 2024, at 11:59 PM EST.
Most Stunning
Most Unique Capability
Most Whimsical
Sites from across the NNCI contributed stunning, unique, and whimsical images of the micro and nanoscale for the 2024 image contest. The public cast over 2,100 votes to determine this year’s winners. First place winning artists will receive up to $1,000 in travel support to a professional conference of their choice and their sites receive a framed print of their winning image. Honorable mentions will receive a framed print of their image. Congratulations to all our winners and thank you for participating!
Most Stunning Winner
Swirling Surfactant Sea
Artists: Zachary McAllister (grad student), Anjiya Panjwani (undergrad researcher), University of Minnesota
NNCI Site: MiNIC
Tool: Confocal Fluorescent Microscope
Most Stunning - Honorable Mention
Shai-Hulud and the Ripples in Sand
Artist: Ankush Nandi, PhD student, Vashisth Research Lab, Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington
NNCI Site: NNI
Tool: Apreo1 SEM by ThermoFisher Scientific
Most Unique Capability - Winner
Cellowstone
Artists: Yi Li, Student, Kelley Research group, Northwestern University
NNCI Site: SHyNE
Tool: JEOL 3200
Most Unique Capability - Honorable Mention
Advanced imaging of cathode active material degradation: insights through Helios 5 DualBeam system
Artists: Rupayan Ghosh (Graduate student) and Feng Lin (Associate Professor), Department of Chemistry, Virginia Tech
NNCI Site: NanoEarth
Tool: Helios 5 DualBeam System
Most Whimsical - Winner
Teenage Viral Micro Turtles
Artists: Maria P. Erazo-Garcia (PhD Student) and Frank Aylward (Associate Professor), Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech
NNCI Site: NanoEarth
Tool: JEOL 2100 TEM
Most Whimsical - Honorable Mention
Winkly Starry Night of Lithium
Artists: Jun Ho (Graduate Student, Cui Group) & Sanzeeda Shuchi (Graduate Student, Bent Group), Stanford University
NNCI Site: nano@stanford
Tool: SEM-Magellan