ACS announces winners of 'What is Nano?' video contest

April 7, 2009

The American Chemical Society (ACS) has announced the winners of the "What is Nano?" video contest held by ACS Nanotation, the Web community site for nanoscience and nanotechnology researchers and enthusiasts. Organized as an outgrowth of the Society's peer-reviewed scientific publishing in the area of nanoscale science, the contest sought creative videos that convey the scientific and cultural significance of nanoscience to a broad audience.

"The Nano Song" won top honors in both the "People's Choice" and "Critics' Choice" award categories. The video was a collaborative effort by a research group from University of California, Berkeley, that included Patrick Bennett, David Carlton, Molly Felz, Nola Klemfuss, Glory Liu, Ryan Miyakawa, Stacey Wallace, and Angelica Zen. The People's Choice video award was based on polling results from online voters, whereas the Critics' Choice award was determined by a panel of expert judges that included Paul Alivisatos, Ph.D., (University of California, Berkeley), Angela Belcher, Ph.D., (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Aaron Rowe (Wired magazine), and Paul Weiss, Ph.D., (The Pennsylvania State University), who jointly evaluated video submissions based on creativity, scientific clarity of explanation, originality, and quality.

Commenting on the top video, award recipient Bennett said the group "wanted to make something that could be appreciated by everyone regardless of their technical background." That achievement was reflected in the more than 17,000 Web accesses recorded for their submission, as well as the hundreds of viewer feedback responses posted on ACS Nanotation.

"Nanotechnology Brings us Delicious New Solar Cells," created by Blake Farrow at the University of Notre Dame, was the runner-up in the People's Choice category. "Introduction to Nanotechnology," created by Dan Graham of Asemblon Inc., was the Critics' Choice runner-up.

Source: American Chemical Society (news : web)