Engineers Take Top Spots in 2017 Scientific Images Contest
Engineers win second and fifth places as well as four honorable mentions
Second place: Adam Jakus, "3D-Printed Copper or Air?"
Fifth place: Nick Sather, "Salty Night"
Honorable mention: Alexandra Edelbrock, "Accidental Beauty"
Honorable mention: Andrew Koltonow, "Dry & Cracked"
Honorable mention: Ronit Fraiman and Mark McClendon, "Switching Nanofibers"
Honorable mention: Brian Soetikno, "Vessels in the Living Eye"Who knew salt could be so beautiful?
Two Northwestern Engineering projects — both featuring salt — took second and fifth places in Science in Society’s seventh annual scientific images contest. Engineering entries also received four honorable mentions.
Dedicated to science education and public engagement, Science in Society unveiled its five winning images and seven honor mentions on Thursday, November 2 at Evanston Township High School. A panel of artists, scientists, and community members judged the submissions.
A 3D-printed copper salt structure earned second place. “3D-Printed Copper or Air?” was submitted by Adam Jakus, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. When the structure is placed in water, the copper salt dissolves to leave behind a porous, incredibly light, sponge-like material, which can be used to implant gel and liquid biomaterials during surgery.
“Salty Night,” submitted by Nick Sather, took fifth place. Sather is a graduate student in the laboratory of Samuel I. Stupp, the Board of Trustees Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Chemistry, Medicine, and Biomedical Engineering. The “stars” in Sather’s image are salt crystals, which help solidify a hydrogel that can be 3D-printed into any shape for applications such as implants to heal damaged cartilage in human joints.
Northwestern Engineers who received honorable mentions include:
- Alexandra Edelbrock, graduate student in biomedical engineering, for “Accidental Beauty”
- Andrew Koltonow, graduate student in materials science and engineering, for “Dry & Cracked”
- Ronit Fraiman, postdoctoral fellow, and Mark McClendon, research associate, in the Simpson Querrey Institute for BioNanotechnology, for “Switching Nanofibers”
- Brian Soetikno, graduate student in biomedical engineering, for “Vessels in the Living Eye”