Guidelines for Judging

Entries should have scientific significance, freshness and originality, as well as have an aesthetically pleasing composition and drama. The spirit of the competition is for communicating science, engineering and technology for education and journalistic purposes.

Entries received will be screened for compliance with the rules and evaluated based on the following criteria:

Visual Impact: The visualization successfully conveys the research to its intended audience enabling new scientific insight. It summarizes and logically expresses ideas. The entry demonstrates exceptional artistic talent and use of the seven artistic fundamentals in design (color, value, line, texture, shape, form and space), plus a command of the principles of design (balance, emphasis, harmony proportion, variety, gradation, movement and rhythm).

Effective Communication: The visualization portrays the phenomena, principles, concepts and research context effectively and clearly. The entry exhibits sound knowledge and application of technology used, as well as properly applying scientific methods to the identification, experimentation and conclusion of the visualization. It also reflects current scientific consensus. The presentation is clear and all of the parts are integrated to make it a dynamic whole.

Freshness/Originality: The visualization is unique, with emphasis on new methods and insights to illustrate the research and/or to tell the story. It has an individual voice, vitality and energy. It demonstrates original ideas or combines several simple ideas, and uniquely assesses the research.

Evaluation Process

Evaluation will take place in two phases: Semifinal and Final.

Semifinal Round: Scientists, engineers and other professionals from NSF and the journal Science will conduct the semifinal round of the evaluation.

• Conducted in two rounds and by two separate groups of judges.
  • The first group will be evaluated for visual impact and compliance to the rules.
  • The remaining entries will be evaluated on visual impact, innovation and effective communication.
  • Each entry will be evaluated anonymously.
  • The top 50 entries (10 in each category) with the highest overall scores will be designated the semifinalists and will progress to the final phase of evaluation.

Final Round: A separate panel of distinguished judges representing a variety of fields will evaluate the 50 semifinal entries. Each evaluator will assign a numerical score and the scores will be added together to determine an entry's final score. The entry with the highest overall score in each category will be awarded first prize.

The final evaluators, at their discretion, may choose not to award first place in a category and/or to award "Honorable Mention" based on their discretion

The evaluators' decisions are final.

Winners will be notified individually before the public announcement of the official contest results. Contest results will be publicly announced in the journal Science and Science Online, and by a joint press release. NSF will also publish the names of the winners on its Web site.

Return to Top