Meet the winners of the 5th IBS Art in Science Contest

The Institute for Basic Science (IBS) announced that the six most outstanding works were selected as the winners of the 5^th Art in Science Contest, which was held to promote the convergence between science and art.

IBS has put 18 Art in Science entries on display at the IBS Science and Culture Center since December 2019. Viewers were received online using VR in order to adhere to social distancing guidelines that were imposed due to COVID-19. The selection of the winners was conducted by online voting, in which the viewers could participate until June 30, 2020. By adding up the scores from internal screening (up to 70 points) and online voting (up to 30 points), first (one entry), second (two entries), and third (three entries) place winners were selected.

Winners of the 5th IBS Art in Science

Prize	Affiliation	Submitted by	Title	Artwork
Grand Prize	Center for Self-assembly and Complexity	HWANG Ilha	Painting with a Sound Brush
Gold Prize	Center for Vascular Research	AHN Jihoon	Bonfire in the Brain
	Center for RNA Research	PARK Sejin	Differentiation of Affection
Silver Prize	Center for Biomolecular and Cellular Structure	KIM Hyojin	Green Galaxy
	Center for Molecular Spectroscopy and Dynamics	HONG Jinhee, JO Yonghyeon, JO Jaecheol	Zebrafish	Go to watch the video
	Center for Quantum Nano Science	NAM Shinjae	Starry Quantum

The first place winner was Picture Painted with a Brush of Sound by HWANG Ilha, a researcher at the IBS Center for Self-Assembly and Complexity. This photo was captured while conducting an experiment that involves selectively controlling the oxidation response of clear blue dye molecules using sound. Sound from the speaker creates a wave pattern on the plate, and this pattern dissolves oxygen within the air and adjusts the ratio of oxygen to dye molecules in the solution. The frequency generator and speaker played the role of a paintbrush.

The second place winners were Bonfire in the Brain by AHN Jihoon, a researcher at the IBS Center for Vascular Research, and Eruption of Emotions by PARK Sejin, a researcher at the IBS Center for RNS Research. The former was captured while observing the meninges of a mouse in high resolution using fluorescent staining while maintaining the structure of the meningeal lymphatic vessels. The blood vessels are rendered in green and the lymphatic vessels and macrophages in red. The lymphatic vessels appear to propagate in a vibrant, energetic fashion. The latter was shot using microscopy when the researchers coincidentally observed a heart-shaped cell clumping during an experiment that involves inducing differentiation in neural stem cells through the expression of certain genes.

The third winners were: Star-Turned Fish (HONG Jinhee, CHO Yonghyeon, and CHO Jaecheol of the IBS Center for Molecular Spectroscopy and Dynamics), which is a video-recording of light reflected off the eyes of zebrafish using confocal laser scanning microscopy; Green Galaxy (KIM Hyojin of the Pioneer Research Center for Biomolecular and Cellular Structure) portrays the cells that were photographed during the process of inserting certain genes into insect cells; and Starry Quantum (NAM Sinjae of the IBS Center for Quantum Nanoscience) features the scene of Ant-Man stepping into the extremely microscopic quantum world using scanning tunneling microscopy.