EPSRC Science Photography Competition - 2016
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Gold Ion Trap, by Diana Prado Lopes Aude Craik (EPSRC) - RF Cafe

2015 EPSRC Science Photography Competition Winner:

Gold Ion Trap, by Mrs. Diana Prado Lopes Aude Craik, University of Oxford (EPSRC)

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These images have been chosen for their uniqueness. Subject matter ranges from historic events, to really cool phenomena in science and engineering, to relevant place, to ingenious contraptions, to interesting products (which now has its own dedicated Featured Product category).

The winners of the 2016 EPSRC "Science Photography Competition" have been announced. It was held by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the "UK government agency for funding research and training in engineering and the physical sciences, investing more than £800 million a year in a broad range of subjects - from mathematics to materials science, and from information technology to structural engineering." Recipients of funding from EPSRC submit photographs for judging.

This year's top prize titled "Microwave Ion-Trap Chip for Quantum Computation" went to Mrs. Diana Prado Lopes Aude Craik, University of Oxford, for her photo of a gold ion trap. Per the website, it "shows the chip's gold wire-bonds connected to electrodes which transmit electric fields to trap single atomic ions a mere 100 microns above the device's surface." "When electric potentials are applied to the chip's gold electrodes, single atomic ions can be trapped. These ions are used as quantum bits ('qubits'), units which store and process information in a quantum computer. Two energy states of the ions act as the '0' and '1' states of these qubits. Slotted electrodes on the chip deliver microwave radiation to the ions, allowing us to manipulate the stored quantum ..."

The "Gömböc Equation" blob (see below) from 2014 is uber cool. "Meet the Gömböc, the world's only artificial self-righting shape. Unlike Weebles and inflatable toys, which use a strategically-placed weight to pull them upright, the Gömböc has no energy source. No matter how it's placed on a flat surface, the Gömböc, borne out of complex mathematical theory, will right itself. The equation defining the Gömböc appears in the background of the photograph "

The website says the contest is in its third year, but I could only find photos for 2014 and 2016. A few examples are included below. All of the thumbnails derived from full-size images on the EPSRC website.

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 2016 Science Photography Competition

Investigating Light-Matter Interaction High-Finesse Optical Ring Cavity Cold Atoms Andreas Lampis EPSRC 2016  - RF Cafe

Investigating Light-Matter Interaction Using a High-Finesse Optical Ring Cavity and Cold Atoms

Mr. Andreas Lampis, University of Birmingham

Micro-Metal Flower Dr. Dhayalan Shakthivel EPSRC 2016 - RF Cafe

Micro-Metal Flower

Silicon wire with gold at the tip

Dr. Dhayalan Shakthivel, University of Glasgow

Dark Field Light 40 nm Thick Electrodeposited TiO Layer EPSRC 2016 - RF Cafe

Dark Field Light Microscopy Picture of a 40 nm Thick Electrodeposited Titanium Oxide Layer

Miss Katarzyna Sokol, University of Cambridge

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 2014 Science Photography Competition

The Gomboc Equation, by Professor Alain Goriely (EPSRC) - RF Cafe

The Gömböc Equation

World's only artificial self-righting shape

Professor Alain Goriely

Graphene Sunrise Sir Konstantin Novoselov Dr Daniel Elias EPSRC 2014 - RF Cafe

Graphene Sunrise

Measurements of graphene's electrical capacitance when subjected to a magnetic field

Professor Sir Konstantin Novoselov

and Dr Daniel Elias, University of Manchester

Rayleigh Taylor Instability Megan Davies Wykes EPSRC 2014 - RF Cafe

Rayleigh Taylor Instability

Image, of salt water accelerating into fresh water

Megan Davies Wykes, University of Cambridge

 

 

 

Posted March 24, 2016