17 July 2009
Top Australian science photos on show at RMIT
Phred Petersen’s winning image, Blast Wave.
Second place winner, Malaria-infected Human Red Blood Cell, by Steven Morton.
Katrina Putker was awarded third place for Birefringence Binge.
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The fascinating world of scientific images is coming to RMIT University, through a national touring exhibition of the finalists in the 2008 New Scientist Eureka Prize for Science Photography.
The exhibition at RMIT Gallery, which opens next month, will include the stunning winning image by Phred Petersen, RMIT Senior Lecturer in the School of Media and Communication.
Mr Petersen’s entry, Blast Wave, shows a toy rocket exploding a cap and the blast wave that emanated from it.
“High speed photography is a tool that helps us to understand things that go by too quickly for us to see, and it is a fascinating world if you slow things down by several orders of magnitude,” he said.
The second place winner was Steven Morton, Scientific Photographer in the School of Physics at Monash University, for his photograph, Malaria-infected Human Red Blood Cell, while third place went to NMIT student Katrina Putker for her image, Birefringence Binge.
Curated and managed by the Australian Museum, this exhibition is a celebration of science photography showcasing the best 25 entries received in the annual Eureka Prize for Science Photography, sponsored by New Scientist.
The prize, which was one of 20 in the 2008 Australian Museum Eureka Prize program, is awarded for a single photograph that most effectively communicates an aspect of science.
The photographs are taken by amateur and professional photographers, tertiary students, working scientists and non-scientists.
The judges for the 2008 New Scientist Eureka Prize for Science Photography were Alasdair Foster (Director, Australian Centre for Photography), Leigh Henningham (Picture Editor, The Age), Dr Rachel Nowak (Australasian Editor, New Scientist) and Dr John Long (Head of Sciences, Museums Victoria).
2008 New Scientist Eureka Prize for Science Photography is at RMIT Gallery, 344 Swanston Street Melbourne, from 7 August to 12 September.
