CFP

December 3, 2007 -- Arlington, VA. -- The sixth annual Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge is now underway. Co-sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the journal Science, the flagship publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Visualization Challenge is a prestigious competition to find the photographs, illustrations, and digital media that best communicate science, engineering, and technology for education and journalistic purposes.

Jeff Nesbit, Director of NSF's Office of Legislative and Public Affairs, introduced the next Challenge, saying: "Society's builders and investigators, our engineers and scientists, are often said to have vision, by which we mean that they possess imagination, unique perspective, insight, and maybe even a glimpse of the future. All of those attributes," said Nesbit, "are at the core of the Visualization Challenge."

Last year's winning entries were as diverse and imaginative as any yet received. They took us in close to see how nicotine creates cravings, how muscles work, how wires can heal themselves, and even what lies behind our noses. They helped us learn physics, mathematics, and the progression of breast cancer. They took us up 18 kilometers to the top of Hurricane Bonnie and down to the delicate structures of sea moss from Cape Breton Island. They even slowed time to a standstill, revealing the beautiful complexity of a bat's flight.

"The challenge we're laying before the engineers, scientists, visualization specialists, and illustrators of the world," said Nesbit, "is simply this: show us what you see, either in your mind's eye or by way of your instrumentation. Show us something extraordinary and unexpected, something engaging and unimaginably wonderful."

Winning entries will be published in a special section of the September 26, 2008 issue of the journal Science and Science Online and on NSF's website.

The entry deadline is May 31, 2008.

For rules, entry forms, and more information, see: www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/scivis

For more information, please contact: Susan M. Mason OLPA/NSF 703.292.7748 smason@nsf.gov