A photo collage featuring the top 10 winning photos in the 2018 Berkeley Lab Physics Photowalk photo competition. The winning photos and photographers are detailed below.
A photo featuring a view of UC Berkeley’s landmark Campanile building, the San Francisco cityscape and bay, and the south side of the Shyh Wang Hall building at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) was judged as the winner in a Physics Photowalk photo competition organized by the Lab. The photo was submitted by Michael Dawson, an amateur photographer.
The Lab’s Photowalk event, held on May 16, 2018, and the related photo competition were held as part of a Global Physics Photowalk organized by the Interactions Collaboration, which includes members from particle physics labs and institutions around the world. You can watch #PhysPics on Twitter for updates on the global photo competition.
The top three judges’ selections from the Berkeley Lab competition will be entered in the global competition. and judges will select the top winners from entries submitted by 12 participating science institutions around the globe.
During Berkeley Lab’s Photowalk, participants toured Lab science facilities including the Advanced Light Source (ALS), battery R&D labs, Molecular Foundry, and National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC).
Dawson also snapped the second place photo, which he titled “ALS Scientist.” The photo is a mix of black-and-white and color and features Meirong Zeng, a Lab postdoctoral researcher working at Beamline 9.0.2 at the Lab’s Advanced Light Source (ALS).
Dawson said of his visit to the Lab, “I’ve always admired Berkeley Lab activities from afar, so it was a rare treat to be able to meet the scientists and tour the facilities during our Photowalk. Thank you to everyone who took time out of their day to speak with us. My favorite building was the Advanced Light Source, and my only regret is that we couldn’t stay for the sunset.”
The judges’ third place choice, entered by Stanislava Georgieva, was also taken at the ALS and shows George Meigs, a UC San Francisco beamline engineer working at Beamline 8.2.1. This beamline specializes in crystallography experiments that explore the structure of proteins. “Having the opportunity to capture this as a documentary photographer was more than awesome,” Georgieva said. Her work has been shown at exhibitions in the U.S. and in Bulgaria. She has worked on behind-the-scenes photo shoots for films, and her personal work focuses on fine art documentary. Judges also selected another entry by Georgieva among the top 10 winners.
In People’s Choice voting, an online audience selected a close-up photo of an instrument at Berkeley Lab’s Molecular Foundry known as SPLEEM (spin-polarized low-energy electron microscope) as the top choice. That photo was taken by José Luis Aguirre, who has worked as a photojournalist, and as a documentary and commercial photographer.
“Participating in the Photowalk has been a remarkable experience,” Aguirre said. “I had the opportunity to photograph science in a very intimate way for the first time in my life.”
Visiting photographers gather during the Berkeley Lab Photowalk on Wednesday, May 16. (Credit: Kelly J. Owen/Berkeley Lab)
Twenty-seven photographers participated in Berkeley Lab’s Physics Photowalk and submitted a total of 133 photos for judging in the related photo competition. Each photographer was limited to a maximum of five photo entries.
The following are the judges’ top 10 photo selections, in order of priority (No. 1 is the winner and No. 10 is the judges’ 10th choice). Below this list are the rankings of the top three People’s Choice winners. In the People’s Choice voting, members of the general public were invited to choose favorites from the judges’ top 10 list, which was presented in random order.
Click on the images for a larger view.
TOP 10 WINNERS: 2018 BERKELEY LAB PHYSICS PHOTOWALK
FIRST PLACE
“Shyh Wang Hall and Campanile.” (Credit: Michael Dawson)
SECOND PLACE
“ALS Scientist.” Mixed black-and-white and color. Meirong Zeng, a Lab postdoctoral researcher, works at ALS Beamline 9.0.2, which specializes in chemical dynamics. (Credit: Michael Dawson)
THIRD PLACE
George Meigs, a UC San Francisco beamline engineer, works at ALS Beamline 8.2.1, which specializes in protein crystallography experiments. (Credit: Stanislava Georgieva)
FOURTH PLACE
Researcher at Shyh Wang Hall. This photo was taken by Jessica Layton, a professional photographer. She is an internationally exhibited artist and an adjunct photography instructor. (Credit: Jessica Layton)
FIFTH PLACE
“More than Meets the Eye: Detail of the Spin-Polarized Low-Energy Electron Microscope (SPLEEM) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Molecular Foundry.” (Credit: José Luis Aguirre)
SIXTH PLACE
Glass flasks at the Molecular Foundry’s peptoids laboratory. The photographer, Steven Hunter, is a professional photographer who has taken portraits of Glenn Seaborg and Luis Alvarez. His work has appeared at SFMOMA and in several other collections. (Credit: Steven Hunter)
SEVENTH PLACE
“Empire of Light”: The entrance to Berkeley Lab’s Building 2. The photographer, Tracy Bugni, is a former high school physics teacher and is now a math and computer teacher. She has several years of experience in event, travel, and portraiture photography. (Credit: Tracy Bugni)
EIGHTH PLACE
A sample-transfer rod at ALS Beamline 10.0.1, which specializes in a technique known as angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, or ARPES. Susan Bradley took this photo. She is a photography and photojournalism student and freelance photographer. She specializes in still-life photos and also photographs events, fashion, and people. (Credit: Susan Bradley)
NINTH PLACE
Hee Jeung Oh (left), a postdoctoral researcher at UC Berkeley and Berkeley Lab, and UC Berkeley undergraduate student Margherita Tonini work on a drug-capture system. (Credit: Stanislava Georgieva)
10th PLACE
“Building Lines with Sky at Berkeley Lab’s Molecular Foundry.” This photo was taken by Leigh Moyer, an amateur photographer and photography student. Moyer works for the UC Berkeley College of Chemistry’s Web and Communications team. (Credit: Leigh Moyer)
The panel of judges in our local competition included Ken Light, a photojournalism professor at UC Berkeley; Kelly J. Owen, a professional photographer who leads social media efforts at the Lab; Marilyn Chung, Lab photographer and videographer; and John Christensen, a Lab employee who leads our Lab Photo Club.
PEOPLE’S CHOICE WINNERS: SELECTED BY ONLINE VOTING
PEOPLE’S CHOICE: First Place
“More than Meets the Eye: Detail of the Spin-Polarized Low-Energy Electron Microscope (SPLEEM) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Molecular Foundry.” (Credit: José Luis Aguirre)
PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Second Place
“ALS Scientist.” Mixed black-and-white and color. Meirong Zeng, a Lab postdoctoral researcher, works at ALS Beamline 9.0.2, which specializes in chemical dynamics. (Credit: Michael Dawson)
PEOPLE’S CHOICE: Third Place
“Shyh Wang Hall and Campanile.” (Credit: Michael Dawson)
More:
- Berkeley Lab’s Physics Photowalk
- Global Physics Photowalk
- #LBNLphotowalk
- #PhysPics18
- Dozens of Photographers Attend Berkeley Lab’s Physics Photowalk
- VIDEO: 2018 Berkeley Lab Physics Photowalk Highlights
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