Current Contests

Art of Science

Art of Science is a celebration of the aesthetics of scientific research and the way in which science and art inform each other. We hope to encourage the appreciation of this connection and provide an opportunity for members of the Caltech community to share the beauty of their work with others. Prizes are open only to undergraduates and graduate students, but works submitted by Caltech post-docs, faculty, and staff will still be considered for display in the exhibit. Exhibitions from previous years' competitions are also available for viewing on the website (www.artofscience.caltech.edu).

2020-2021 Art of Science submission deadline: March 19th, 2021. Submissions are currently being judged, look out for the winners soon!

Submissions may include imagery created in the course of research, or 2D/3D art forms based on scientific subjects, tools, or concepts. They should consist of one or more images or videos along with a caption to explain the context of the piece. For microscope or telescope images, please include each image's dimensions in its description. Selected entries will be displayed in the Art of Science gallery in Chandler along with the three winning submissions. For the 2020-2021 contest, submissions relating to experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic were also accepted, as many members of the Caltech community have had to adapt to pursuing research differently.

Prizes will be awarded for best entries in the following amounts:

Thank you to Dr. Richard Metzner and the Metzner fund for supporting this contest!

Past Contests

2020-2021 | Zoomed In, Zoomed Out Contest

1st place: "Zoom In, Zoom Out" by Pearl Chen

2nd place: "Scene" by Jenny Ji

3rd place: "Looking Closely at the Flowers on the Dinner Table" by Nora Griffith

2019-2020 | Time Warp Contest

1st place: "Tralfa m'a adoré" by Victoria Liu

2nd place: "Child Again" by Melissa Gutierrez Gonzalez

3rd place: "2 Hours Beside the Lake" by Jerome Seebeck

2018-2019 | Unexpected Contest

1st place: "An Unexpectedly Broken Heart" by Sierra Lopezalles

2nd place: "A Victim" by Jina Lee

3rd place: Untitled by Aaron Shih

2017-2018 | Haiku and Photo Contest

"BURNT OUT" by Rosita Fu and Neymika Jain

2016-2017 | Emotion Contest

'kid, you're a star' by Sandra Ning

'By Bicycle' by Drew Schaeffer

2015-2016 | Discovery Contest

"What She Found There" by Denise Schmitz

2015-2016 | Dreams Contest

literary: "The Loveliest Vision in This Dark World" by Denise Schmitz

literary runner-up: "If GFP Were Emeralds" by Heidi Klumpe

visual: "Rewind: Dreams Almost Lost" by HyeJoon Lee

2014-15 | Love Poetry Contest

Love Poetry Contest

2012-13 | Magnetic Poetry Contest