Out of 150 entries an image of a nano-structure resembling a giraffe has won first prize in the 2012 Science as Art competition of the Materials Research Society. The creator of the picture is Shaahin Amini a Ph.D. student at the University of California, who stumbled onto the structure by accident after hours of peering through his microscope.

The 0.05 millimetre large giraffe was formed out of nickel, aluminium and carbon alloy by a melting process, aimed at studying the growth kinetics and nucleation of graphene layers from molten metals.

And although beautiful, Amini’s giraffe offered but one of the many stunning views into the wondrous microscopic world of what is perhaps the most imaginative competition there is.

© Jorn van Dooren | www.bitsofscience.org