Contests
Life at the Frontiers of Energy Research Video Contest
As part of the Science for Our Nation’s Energy Future: Energy Frontier Research Centers Summit & Forum, the 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) were invited to create short, engaging films that educate, inspire, and entertain an intelligent but not expert audience about the extraordinary science, innovation and people in their centers.
Twenty-six teams took up the challenge, and submitted highly creative and informative videos in a wide range of styles. To see all the entries, including the five winners and the People’s Choice Award, visit the video contest page on the EFRC Community website.
Ten-Hundred and One Word Challenge
The Ten Hundred and One Word Challenge invited the 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) to represent their science in images, cartoons, photos, words and original paintings, but any descriptions or words could only use the 1000 most commonly used words in the English language, with the addition of one word important to each of the EFRCs and the mission of DOE: energy.
The Challenge was inspired by Up Goer Five, a comic by xkcd.com where the cartoonist describes the complicated blueprint of the Saturn V rocket using only the 1000 most commonly used words in the English language.
Thirty-one teams took up the challenge, and submitted a diverse array of highly creative and visually captivating entries that told the story of the innovative, ground-breaking science performed in the EFRCs. To see all the entries, including the five juried winners and the People’s Choice Award, visit the word challenge contest page on the EFRC Community website.
Poetry of Science Contest
Following the Energy Frontier Research Center (EFRC) tradition, during each Principal Investigators’ meeting there is an optional contest designed to educate, inspire and entertain an intelligent, but not expert, audience with the extraordinary science, innovation, and people in the EFRCs. In 2015, the 32 EFRCs were challenged to convey the wonder of science using poetry inspired by a scientific image.
Sixteen teams took up the challenge, and submitted a rich variety of images and poems that evoked the complexities, splendor, and awe of energy science. To see all the entries, including the three juried winners and the People’s Choice Award, visit the poetry of science contest page on the EFRC Community website.
The Intersection of Sounds and Science Podcast Contest
Following the EFRC tradition, during each Principal Investigators’ meeting there is an optional contest designed to educate, inspire and entertain an intelligent, but not expert, audience with the extraordinary science, innovation, and people in the Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC), Energy Innovation Hubs (Hub), and Computational Materials Sciences Awards (CMS). In 2017, the 36 EFRCs, 2 Hubs, and 5 CMS were challenged to share the excitement and mystery of science using sounds.
Fourteen teams took up the challenge, and submitted a symphony of scientific sounds that reveal the science, and the people behind the science, in entirely new ways. To see all the entries, including the five juried winners and the People’s Choice Award, visit the intersection of sound and science podcast page on the EFRC Community website.
Life at the Frontiers of Energy Research Video Contest II
As part of the 2019 Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) Principal Investigators’ Meeting, the Department of Energy’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences sponsored a Life at the Frontiers of Energy Research Video Contest II. Following the EFRC tradition, during each meeting there is an optional contest designed to educate, inspire, and entertain an intelligent but not expert audience about the extraordinary science, innovation and people in the EFRCs. After a hiatus of 8 years, the video contest returned! The 46 EFRCs were challenged to highlight a scientific breakthrough, tell a story of a big idea, show collaboration in action, give a window into the life of a scientist or student, or illustrate the impact on society of an EFRC’s mission.
10 teams took up the challenge, and submitted a kaleidoscope of stories that expose the trials and rewards of doing research that is critical to our energy future. To see all the entries, including the four juried winners and the People’s Choice Award, visit the Life at the Frontiers of Energy Research Video Contest II page on the EFRC Community website.
