Engineering Art Show

Jacobs School of Engineering faculty, students and staff were well represented in the Art of Science show sponsored by UC San Diego's Science and Engineering Library. Engineering students Christopher Doran (Electrical and Computer Engineering) and Kim Wright (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering) took two of the top three awards in the student category. Doran's piece, "A Tapestry in Silicon," took second place in the student show. It is described by the artist as:

Monocrystalline silicon flakes transferred to carbon adhesive. The silicon started as a uniform 300 nanometer-thick sheet, but later assumed the unique flake structure from the uneven mechanical forces originating from the textured tacky carbon surface. While crystalline silicon is hard and brittle in the macro-scale, when it is sufficiently thinned like can be seen here, it can become quite bendable. The distinct coloring originates from the differential interference contrast microscope that imaged the sample, which uses interference from split polarized light rays to enhance the visibility of thin layers that might otherwise be transparent.

All submissions are now on exhibit in the Science and Engineering Library, which is located within the Geisel Library. Or you can view them on the library's Flickr stream. The competition is designed to show that science is beautiful and the submissions did not disappoint, according to the library:

The images submitted ranged from nano corn fields, forests, and gardens to visual demonstrations of supersonic turbulence, fire whirls, and fans of flame. Also submitted were striking images of data simulating the evolution of galaxy clusters and the UCSD logo depicted using 1 million E. coli cells. One image (Nano Party) was created in celebration of UC San Diego’s 50th anniversary.