Tag Archives: EnvisioNano contest

Vote for favourite EnvisioNano image ’til June 17, 2016

A June 6, 2016 news item on Nanowerk announces the latest and last voting round of the semifinal judging for the 2016 EnvisioNano contest,

Members of the public are invited to vote for the best images in this round of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) EnvisioNano contest.

Now in its third round, this contest has drawn submissions from students at top labs and schools across the United States.

This round includes images such as this one (from the 3rd voting round of the EnvisioNano page),

Iron Honeycomb: Hexagonal close-packed assembly of iron oxide nanoparticles Credits: Vikas Nandwana Advisor: Vinayak Dravid Department of Materials Science and Engineering Northwestern University

Iron Honeycomb: Hexagonal close-packed assembly of iron oxide nanoparticles Credits: Vikas Nandwana Advisor: Vinayak Dravid Department of Materials Science and Engineering Northwestern University

Nandwana also provides this description of his image,

Description: The particles shown here are made of iron oxide, or rust – just like on a car. But these nanoparticles are tiny, 100,000 times thinner than a sheet of paper. At such a small size, they demonstrate some unique properties that can be used to detect and treat diseases like cancer by just applying external magnetic field without any side effects. Due to the same size and shape, the magnetic nanoparticles self-assemble (or come together) into a closely-packed honeycomb pattern.  Iron oxide nanoparticles like these are already used to help people suffering from iron deficiency (anemia). Researchers study how these magnetic nanoparticles interact with each other and tissues in the body, which can open new avenues for nontoxic, targeted tests and treatments for cancer, Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular disease.
Laboratory website: http://vpd.ms.northwestern.edu/
Technique: Transmission Electron Microscopy
Funding Source: NTU-NU Institute for NanoMedicine located at the International Institute for Nanotechnology, Northwestern University, USA and the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

A June 6, 2016 US National Nanotechnology Initiative news release, which originated the news item, gives more details,

In the first two rounds of the EnvisioNano contest, student images racked up over 41,000 online views and both previous winning images were featured on the back cover of the NNI Supplement to the President’s 2017 Budget! We encourage everyone to cast votes for their favorite images. All students have provided a description of their photos and research, allowing the viewer to envision where the research is headed and to learn how seeing at the nanoscale is important to reaching that vision. So, as you view the pictures, take a moment to learn about the research and how nanotechnology may improve your life.

Voting starts Monday, June 6th, and is open until June 17th [2016].
View the images and cast your vote at: www.nano.gov/EnvisioNanoVoting.

Once this voting round is completed, judges from the NNI will select the final winning image.

There are a few more details about the contest on this Envisio Nano page. It may be of interest to note that voting ends at 12 pm (noon) on June 17, 2016.

2015 winners were featured (as mentioned earlier) on the cover of the 2017 NNI budget supplement. I wrote about the supplement and embedded images of the cover in my April 4, 2016 posting.