Winners announced for 18th annual Materials Visualization Competition

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The winners of the 18th annual Materials Visualization Competition (MVC) have been announced. MVC is a scientific visual and artistic competition that celebrates the quality of research in materials at Penn State and promotes awareness of materials science through visualization. MVC is sponsored by the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences’ Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Materials Research Institute.

This year, 58 images were submitted and judged by a panel of professionals in materials and the arts. Participants chose which imaging category their image would be judged in — scientific imaging or computer rendering.

The judges selected winners in the following categories: best of show, visual appeal and scientific imaging or computation rendering. Cash prizes for the competition totaled $1,800, with the best of show winner receiving $500. In all other categories winners received: $250 for first place, $100 for second place and $50 for third place.

Best of Show Award:

• “Stainless Nebula: A Supernova of Color on Deformed 316L Stainless Steel” by Michaela Luebbers, graduate student, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences

Visual Appeal Award:

• First place: “Rainbow Pebbles of Boron Nitride” by Alexander Sredenschek, graduate student, and Hannah J. Wood, postdoctoral scholar, Department of Physics, Eberly College of Science
• Second place: “Salt in Orbit” by MD Mashfiqur Rahman, graduate student, and Dipika Mandal, postdoctoral scholar, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
• Third place: “Microscopic flight of Nano Icarus” by Reena Jaglan, graduate student, Department of Chemistry, Eberly College of Science

Imaging: Scientific Imaging Award:

• First place: “Tables for the Angstrom Age: Crafted with Ultrathin 2D Hard Masks” by Pranavram Venkatram, graduate student, Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, College of Engineering
• Second place: “Digging deeper: a record of Earth’s interior in single crystals” by Renan Beckman, graduate student, Department of Geosciences, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
• Third place: “Halftone-Encoded Smart Hydrogel Film: Programmed 2D-to-3D Shape-Morphing Reveals Hidden Optical Information” by Hongtao Sun, assistant professor, Harold and Inge Marcus Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, College of Engineering

Imaging: Computational Rendering Award:

• First place: “Chaos to Conduction” by Debjyoti Bhattacharya, graduate students, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
• Second place: “The Space Carbon Keeps” by Alireza Seperinezhad, graduate student, Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, College of Engineering and Malgorzata Kowalik, associate research professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering
• Third place: “Not so Perfect Diamond” by Malgorzata Kowalik, associate research professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering

People’s Choice Award:

The People’s Choice Award judging took place online by the public, with more than 2,700 votes cast.

• “Bound by cells” by Sina Kheirabadi, graduate student, Robert V. Waltemeyer Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering

All MVC winning entries may be viewed online.

Entry is open to all current Penn State undergraduates, graduates, postdocs and faculty working on materials-related topics. Call for submissions for the MVC19 will be posted in early 2027.