Vol. 33 No. 6
November-December 2011

Chemistry Cartoons

Merit prize winner “Crash Bond” by Elizabeth Randall.

Cartoons about chemistry were the focus of an IYC 2011 competition carried out by IUPAC’s Physical and Biophysical Chemistry Division. On 1 August, Jessica Hough of Valley Central High School, Montgomery, New York, USA, was awarded first prize in the Chemistry Cartoon Competition at a ceremony held in the Exhibition Hall of the IUPAC Congress in San Juan.

Merit prize winner “Degenerate Orbitals” by Bruno Demoro.

Hough’s cartoon, entitled Chemical Attraction, was selected from 63 entries from 8 countries. The goal of the competition was to clearly illustrate a chemistry principle in a way that would be clear and accessible to the general public and would enrich the teaching of chemistry. The entries were judged based on three criteria: the science, their appearance and the sense of humor in the cartoon. The cartoons were judged by the following panel of chemistry professors involved with IUPAC: Assaf Friedler (Israel), Maria Filomena Camoes (Portugal), Richard Hartshorn, (New Zealand), Sanjay Mathur (Germany), and Doug Templeton (Canada).

Jessica Hough’s cartoon was inspired by the lectures of her chemistry teacher Ms. Campbell, who pushed her to continue with chemistry and told her about the competition. Hough’s art teacher, Ms. Kronyak, also encouraged her to explore art and creativity in general. Jess Hough is now attending college at the Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York. She is enrolled in the illustration program, and hopes to work in enough chemistry electives to put together a concentration or possibly a minor. Scientific art is a definite interest.

Jessica Hough poses with an international melting pot of members of the IUPAC Physical and Biophysical Chemistry Division: (from L) Brian Sykes (Canada), Rolando Guidelli (Italy), Roberto Marquadt (France, Div Secretary), Jim McQuillan (New Zealand, Div President), Jessica, Angela Wilson (USA), and Kaoru Yamanouchi (Japan, Div VP).

Merit prizes were awarded to the following students:

• Caroline Dahl, a postgraduate at the University of Oxford, UK
• Bruno Demoro, a postgraduate at Universidad de la República, Uruguay
• Phoebe Low, of West High School, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
• Megan Jackson, an undergraduate at California Institute of Technology, USA
• Elizabeth Randall, an undergraduate at the University of Birmingham, UK

Jim McQuillan presenting Hough with her award on 1 August during the IUPAC Congress in San Juan.

Travel support for Jessica to attend the IUPAC Congress was provided by Corning Incorporated, Mid-Hudson Local Section of the American Chemical Society, and the American Chemical Society. The IUPAC Physical and Biophysical Division also acknowledges the coordinating support of Kathe Hughes of the U.S. National Academy of Science, representing the USA IUPAC National Adhering Organization.
As an outcome of this initiative, the division now plans to run an annual student physical chemistry cartoon competition.

www.chemistry2011.org/participate/activities/show?id=361