UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The winners of the 16th annual Materials Visualization Competition (MVC), a scientific visual and artistic competition sponsored by the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MatSE) and the Materials Research Institute (MRI) at Penn State, have been announced. MVC celebrates the quality of research in materials at Penn State and promotes awareness of materials science through visualization.

This year, 36 images were judged by a panel of professionals in materials and the arts. Participants chose which imaging category their image would be judged in — scientific imaging or computer rendering. The judges selected winners in the following categories: best of show, visual appeal and scientific imaging or computation rendering. Cash prizes for the competition totaled $1,800, with the best in show receiving $500. Winners in all other categories received: $250 for first place, $100 for second place, and $50 for third place.

The best of show award went to Saman Zavari, graduate student in chemical engineering, for the entry, “A cryo microparticle.” 

Visual Appeal award winners

• First place: “Polymeric outgrowths: extending surface-bound chains” by Jensen Sevening, graduate student in materials science and engineering
• Second place: “Underwater of entropy” by Yueze Tan, graduate student in materials science and engineering
• Third place: “The great chroma reefs” by Benjamin Aronson, graduate student in materials science and engineering

Imaging: Scientific Imaging award winners

• First place: “Buckyballs for invisible cloak” by Lin Wang, postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Mechanical Engineering
• Second place: “Light’s labyrinth: the nano-sculpture garden” by Md Tarek Rahman, graduate student in electrical engineering
• Third place: “Two-dimensional Nittany Lion” by Krishnan Mekkanamkulam Ananthanarayanan, graduate student in materials science and engineering

Imaging: Computational Rendering award winners

• First place: “Crafted by AI: the emergent symphony of sequence-defined macromolecules” by Debjyoti Bhattacharya, graduate in materials science and engineering
• Second place: “Evolution” by Malgorzata Kowalik, associate research professor of mechanical engineering
• Third place: “Unveiling the unseen: Ti safeguarding MoS2 from O2 and H2O corrosion in the quantum ballet with ReaxFF atomistic modeling” by Qian Mao, assistant research professor of mechanical engineering

The People’s Choice Award judging took place online by the general public, and almost 1,700 votes were cast. The winner of the 2024 People's Choice Award and $100 was the image “Microscopic forest: nasal cilia” by Irem Deniz Derman, graduate student in engineering science and mechanics.

All MVC winning entries may be viewed online. Entry is open to all current Penn State undergraduates, graduates, postdocs and faculty working on materials-related topics. Call for submissions for the MVC17 will be posted in early 2025.