{"id":650652,"date":"2025-05-02T16:01:02","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T20:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=650652"},"modified":"2025-10-07T17:36:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T21:36:34","slug":"winner-of-art-of-science-thrives-in-two-states-at-once-650652","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/winner-of-art-of-science-thrives-in-two-states-at-once-650652\/","title":{"rendered":"Winner of Ed and Barbara Hajim Art of Science competition thrives in two states at once"},"content":{"rendered":"

The annual competition explores the intersection of science, art, and technology.<\/h2>\n

The Ä¢¹½´«Ã½\u2019s annual competition to explore and illuminate the aesthetic beauty that results when science, art, and technology intersect drew record voting turnout this year. The winning entries of the 2025\u00a0Ed and Barbara Hajim Art of Science<\/a>\u00a0competition were announced during a ceremony in the Carlson Library<\/a>, where they will be permanently displayed.<\/p>\n

Held each spring, the competition is\u00a0sponsored by the\u00a0Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences\u00a0<\/a>in collaboration with\u00a0River Campus Libraries<\/a>. Prizes are awarded for the top student submissions and for the People\u2019s Choice Award, which is voted on by members of the Rochester community. Trustee Emeritus Ed Hajim \u201958 and his wife Barbara established an endowed fund last year to ensure that the competition will continue in perpetuity.<\/p>\n

First place and People\u2019s Choice Award winner<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Illustration
Edge of Existence: Schr\u00f6dinger’s Cat<\/em> by Abdulwahab Sayes \u201926<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The judges and the 770 University community members who voted in the competition agreed on the top entry this year: Edge of Existence: Schr\u00f6dinger’s Cat<\/em> by Abdulwahab Sayes \u201926 (mechanical engineering). Sayes illustrated the artwork over the course of several months using different grades of charcoal and chalk.<\/p>\n

\u201cErwin Schr\u00f6dinger introduced the famous \u2018cat paradox\u2019 in 1935 to illustrate how a system could exist in multiple states simultaneously until measured or observed, revealing how quantum theory can defy our everyday intuition,\u201d says Sayes. \u201cIn this piece, I\u2019ve aimed to bring that paradox to life (and half to death) in a single, compelling tableau, blending the worlds of art and science to spark curiosity in viewers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Second place<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Close-up
Hydric Galaxies<\/em> by Jovanna Hu \u201928, Isabella Lu \u201928, and Shea Ge \u201928<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The runner up was Hydric Galaxies<\/em> by an interdisciplinary team of first-year students including Jovanna Hu \u201928 (computer science), Isabella Lu \u201928 (business), and Shea Ge \u201928 (digital media studies). The work was created by spraying water droplets onto plastic film and then placing a color sheet beneath. Light refracts through the droplets and reflects off the plastic, projecting amplified chromatic patterns that were captured with a macro lens, capturing the interplay.<\/p>\n

In their artist statement, the team says the work \u201cmerges fluid dynamics with artistic composition. Scientific principles of light reflection\/refraction and surface tension generate natural color spectra, while intentional framing transforms random patterns into celestial metaphors. Physics becomes a paintbrush, rendering invisible optical laws as tangible cosmic beauty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Third place<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Fluorescent
Biological Koi Pond<\/em> by PhD student Logan Edvalson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rounding out the podium was Biological Koi Pond<\/em> by biology PhD student Logan Edvalson. The artwork captures mature spermatozoa using fluorescent microscopy on a Dragonfly spinning disc confocal microscope.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this image, I combine shape and color to identify cell types and DNA packaging phenotypes,\u201d says Edvalson. \u201cIn addition to facilitating the analysis of reproductive physiology, this image also demonstrates how things we find beautiful in the macroscopic world often have parallels in the microscopic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"five
Winners of the Ed and Barbara Hajim Art of Science competition display their award-winning art. From left: Jovanna Hu \u201928, Isabella Lu \u201928, and Shea Ge \u201928 show Hydric Galaxies<\/em>; Abdulwahab Sayes \u201926 holds Edge of Existence: Schr\u00f6dinger’s Cat<\/em>; and PhD student Logan Edvalson with stands with his work Biological Koi Pond<\/em>. (Ä¢¹½´«Ã½ photo \/ Megan Petty)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A record 770 Rochester community members weighed in on the competition, which explores the intersection of science, art, and technology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1242,"featured_media":650722,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[18632,326,16072],"class_list":["post-650652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community","tag-hajim-school-of-engineering-and-applied-sciences","tag-river-campus-libraries","tag-school-of-arts-and-sciences"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWinner of Ed and Barbara Hajim Art of Science competition thrives in two states at once<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A record 770 Rochester community members weighed in on the competition, which explores the intersection of science, art, and technology.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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