January 7, 2021
Framed prints of winning images in the SCS Science Image Challenge hang on a white wall at Willard Airport in Savoy.
An exhibit at the University of Illinois Willard Airport in Savoy showcases winners and finalists in the 2020 SCS Science Image Challenge.

Several images submitted by researchers in the Department of Chemistry are among the winners and finalists in the 2020 Science Image Challenge sponsored by the School of Chemical Sciences.

This year's winner in the Main Category was graduate student Tianle Chen in the lab of Emad Tajkhorshid, an affiliate faculty member in chemistry and faculty member in the Center for Biophysics & Quantitative Biology.

An exhibit at the University of Illinois Willard Airport in Savoy showcases the images of winners and finalists in the 2020 SCS Science Image Challenge. The display is located on the second floor lounge at the airport and is updated annually with winners from this annual challenge. An exhibit in Noyes Lab displays images from previous science image challenges. 

SCS annually invites researchers to participate by submitting a computer-assisted or traditional scientific image designed to inform, educate and inspire. Each entrant's Principal Investigator must be a faculty member or an affiliate/adjunct of the Department of Chemistry or Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering. Below are the winners and finalists from the Department of Chemistry. Go to the SCS Science Image Challenge gallery to see all the winners and finalists for 2020. 

 

2020 SCS SCIENCE IMAGE CHALLENGE RESULTS

Main Category Winner

 

Illustration of spike proteins on surface of coronavirus.
SARS-COV 2 fuses to and enters human cells upon binding of its spike proteins to human receptors. Our simulation model captures a realistic representation of spike proteins and their dynamics on the surface of the coronavirus (rendered with VMD).

 

Title: Fatal Coronavirus Spike Forest

By graduate student Tianle Chen (Tajkhorshid Lab), Chemistry and Center for Biophysics
& Quantitative Biology.

 

 

 

 

Main Category Finalists

Processed, confocal fluorescence image showing human lung differentiation.
Processed, confocal fluorescence image showing human lung differentiation. Epithelial cells recovered from aerosol exposure and differentiated into goblet (green), ciliated (orange) and club (red) cells. Nuclei stained in blue. Chang said the hope is that this image encourages everyone during the COVID-19 pandemic, because our cells bounce back.

 

Title: Resilience in the Darkness

By chemistry post-doctoral researcher Huei-Huei Chang (Murphy Lab).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image of a color-corrected scanning electron micrograph of a multi-layered semiconductor thin film.
This is a color-corrected scanning electron micrograph of a multi-layered semiconductor thin film with carbon tape used to minimize charging effects. Layered film looks like a peaceful ocean surface reflecting serene sky, juxtaposed against the explosion of rugged carbon tape structure.

 

Title: Apocalypse within serenity

By chemistry graduate student Aastha Sharma (Vura-Weis Lab).

 

 

 

 

 

 

A false colored SEM image of gold nanoparticles in a bipyramidal shape.
A false colored SEM image of gold nanoparticles in a bipyramidal shape. The gold nanostructures exhibit five-fold symmetry along the longitudinal axis. The nanoparticles have ten facets and sharp tips, resembling the shape of diamonds. The longitudinal diameter of the nanoparticles is around 100 nm, and the transversal diameter is around 30 nm.

 

Title: Nanodiamond

By chemistry graduate student Yiming Wang (Lu Lab).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The two other finalists in the Main Category were Mathew Chan with the Shukla Lab in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
and Azzaya Khasbaatar with the Diao Lab in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering. 

 

Cover Art Category Winner

Image of the cover of Nature Research, showing an image depicting an artistic representation of star-shaped DNA nanostructures binding to the surface of dengue virus particles
Star strategy shows sense: This cover image depicts an artistic representation of star-shaped DNA nanostructures binding to the surface of dengue virus particles in a polyvalent, pattern-matching fashion for rapid/sensitive diagnosis and potent inhibition of viral infections.

 

Title: Star strategy shows sense

By Professor Xing Wang, Department of Chemistry (Wang Labs), and Tulsi Voralia,
senior art editor for Nature Research.