2009 Visualization Challenge

### Also Online See the slide show : The [winners and honorable mentions][1], including video clips Read about the winners in the [illustration][2], [interactive media][3], [noninteractive media][4], [information graphics][5], and [photography][6] categories Science Podcast : [This week's show [MP3]][7] includes a segment on the Visualization Challenge Sometimes scientific information can be vividly represented with commonplace materials. Take the illustration on the cover of this issue of Science . It is a three-dimensional art installation made from 75,000 cable zip ties depicting the dynamic relationships between endothelial cells and their surrounding microenvironment. Or turn to page 950 for a description of how cotton batting, a clothesline, and sewing pins are used in a video to illustrate the impact of the environment on gene expression. The sculpture and video are among the awardees in this year's International Science & Engineering Visualization Challenge. Clearly, the convergence of art and science can successfully convey complex phenomena in spectacular ways. For the past 7 years, Science and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) have co-sponsored annual challenges to promote cutting-edge efforts to visualize scientific data, principles, and findings. The visualization challenge is intended to showcase and encourage this kind of work. This year's entries present a bold and unique look at life, from the broad view of planet Earth, to a more intimate picture of activity inside the human brain. We received 130 entries from 14 countries, 23 U.S. states, and the District of Columbia. A committee of staff members from Science and NSF screened the entries, and an outside panel of experts in scientific visualization reviewed the finalists and selected the winners. The winning entries appear on the following pages. We encourage you to submit applications for next year's challenge, details of which will be available at [www.nsf.gov/news/scivis][8], and to join us in celebrating this year's winners. Tarri Joyner of NSF organized this year's challenge. Michael Torrice of Science 's news staff wrote the text that accompanies the images in this special section, and Martyn Green, Tara Marathe, and Andrew Whitesell put together a special Web presentation at [www.sciencemag.org/special/vis2009/][9]. Donna Cox University of Illinois Urbana, IL Thomas Lucas Thomas Lucas Productions Inc. Ossining, NY Alisa Zapp Machalek National Institute of General Medical Sciences Bethesda, MD Corinne Sandrone Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Baltimore, MD Tierney Thys National Geographic Emerging Explorer Carmel, CA Thomas Wagner Cryosphere Science Program, NASA Washington, DC [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/special/vis2009/show/ [2]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/327/5968/946 [3]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/327/5968/949 [4]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/327/5968/950 [5]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/327/5968/953 [6]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/327/5968/954 [7]: http://podcasts.aaas.org/science_podcast/SciencePodcast_100219.mp3 [8]: http://www.nsf.gov/news/scivis [9]: http://www.sciencemag.org/special/vis2009/