Through a microscope’s lens or under bright lab lights, University of Chicago researchers see science, engineering, technology and the solutions to some of the biggest problems facing humanity.
Some also see beauty.
The Pritzker Nanofabrication Facility (PNF) Annual Nanofabrication Image Contest, better known as PANIC, is a yearly contest where the photographically minded can share the compelling, evocative or even humorous images found in their PNF work.
The PNF is a major research facility at UChicago focused on supporting basic science, applied research, research and development, and prototype production using micro- and nanofabrication.
From an endless line of over-etched silicon that looks just too much like bat ears to black and white phantoms zipping among ionic liquid-gated field effect transistors, the 2024 winners represent the intersection of science and art.
Sicheng Fan, a Chemistry graduate student in Prof. Jiwoong Park’s lab, was named one of the three winners for his work “Phantom Circuitry,” finding the poetry within ionic liquid-gated field effect transistors.
“This image captures the interplay of light and shadow, which flows in both rigid and fluidic surfaces,” Fan said. “The balance between mechanical order and natural flow creates a futuristic, almost dreamlike aesthetic that feels both technical and artistic.”
For Wen Li, a Chemistry graduate student in Prof. Bozhi Tian’s lab, the contrast between life and machinery was what inspired his piece “Mesh Electronics on Heart.”
“The beauty of integrating cleanroom fabrication with bioengineering, the non-living electrode with living isolated heart is appealing to me visually,” Li said.
Physics graduate student Brennan Dizdar’s photo “A Crossroads for Electrons” illustrates not the contrast of diverse elements, but their unity. He was struck by the simplicity of a single electron trap he was using in a hybrid quantum system, symbolically and literally coupling concepts from otherwise distinct research directions.
“The picture is appealing because it is easy to imagine how each of the structures might push or pull nearby electrons,” Dizdar said. “It is uniquely satisfying to be able to think about an experiment in quantum information in such an intuitive way.”