Purpose of the Contest

The contest has been established to support the atmosphere of discovery and wonder that nanotech research represents. The first goal of the contest is for the participants to have fun. The second goal is to promote the public’s acceptance of and interest in nanotechnology:  most people who are new to the topic really start to “get it” when they see compelling pictures. nanoTox^® and the Smalley Institute would also like to reward the hard work of all non-Faculty researchers.

Many of the illustrations, models and nanoscopic images produced in researching nanoscale science are artistic transcending basic illustration and the mundane.      

Contest Guidelines and Rules

The contest is open to all undergraduate and graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. Images may be submitted by individuals or groups, but they should be the work primarily of students, rather than faculty. The work needs to be fresh:  completed in the six months prior to submission. Re-submitting the same image is allowed for three separate months, as long as the work is still fresh and has not won in a prior month.

The submission deadline is the last Friday of each month, and the winner will be announced by the fifteenth of the following month. Winning images will be displayed on the Smalley Institute Website, with a link to the nanoTox® Website. Winners will be awarded $100. In the case of teams, each team member named on the submission will receive an equal portion of that $100.

Images should be submitted electronically to nanoart@rice.edu. If the file is too large for email, contestant should upload the file to the Rice Dropbox Service at https://dropbox.rice.edu/. (Click on “Drop-off” and follow the directions, typing “Nano Art” in the name field for recipient and nanoart@rice.edu in the email field. Please complete the entry form (Page 2 of this document), including the name or names of the entrants, title of the entry, and permission to reprint or republish the images on Smalley Institute and nanoTox® media.

Judgment Criteria and Jury

Images will be judged by a jury consisting of representatives from nanoTox®, the Smalley Institute, Texas-UK Collaborative and the Rice University Art Department. The winning entry will be selected based on a combination of visual beauty and technical marvel. In other words, an image that is visually striking and illustrates an important principle in nanotechnology is just as valid for submission as one that is purely a visually-compelling picture.