FSU Biology Student Receives Special Honors in Micrograph Awards Competition
Oct 11, 2023 8:00 AM
Frostburg State University upper-level biology student, MacKenzie Freeze, was recently recognized with Special Honors in Microscopy Today’s 5th annual Micrograph Awards competition. The competition is held to highlight both scientific relevance as well as artistic merits of micrographs. According to their website, “The premise of these competitions is that scientific micrographs can be interesting in their own right as images with visual impact.”
Freeze’s dark-field light microscope image shows a colony of living freshwater green algae, Pseudopediastrum boryanum. Hers was one of the many submissions that came in from across 17 countries and 16 states. A panel of five judges narrowed the field to 25 micrograph finalists, only ten of which were from the United States.
Entries can be those from light microscopes, electron microscopes, x-ray microscopes, scanning probe microscopes or another microanalytic tool. “Another goal of our competition is to honor images that may not be eligible or competitive in other micrograph contests,” said Charles Layman, senior editor of Microscopy Today.
"I'm so thrilled for MacKenzie to be recognized alongside professional microscopists,” said her Advanced Microscopy professor, Dr. Rebekah Taylor. “This is a great testament to her dedication and skill, and also to the excellent microscopes we have at the DelSignore Microscopy Suite.” Taylor continued, “I hope more students like MacKenzie will take advantage of the Advanced Microscopy course and enjoy discovering the "microworld.”
Next year’s micrograph submission site will open in November and close on March 15, 2024. For more information, visit the Microscopy Today web site.