Feb 6, 2014 2:00 PM

Gallery: The Best Science and Engineering Visualizations of 2013

Illustrations by Greg Dunn, Brian Edwards, Marty Saggese, Tracy Bale, Rick Huganir
01
viz135HR-2400px
"Cortex in Metallic Pastels," 1st Place, Illustration
Vicente Fernandez, Orr Shapiro, Melissa Garren, Assaf Vardi, Roman Stocker (MIT)
02
"Invisible Coral Flows," 1st Place, Photography

Illustrations by Lorrie Faith Cranor, director of the CyLab Usable Privacy and Security Laboratory (Carnegie Mel lon University)
03
viz136HR-2400px
"Security Blanket," Honorable Mention, Illustration
Kristy Jost, Babak Anasori, Majid Beidaghi, Genevieve Dion, and Yuri Gogotsi (Drexel University)
04
wearables2
"Wearable Power," Informational Posters and Graphics, First Place and People's Choice ([See full-size image](http://stag4.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2014/02/wearables2.jpg))

Lydia-Marie Joubert (Stanford University)
05
"Human Hand Controlling Bacterial Biofilms," People's Choice, Illustration
Illustrations by Anna Pyayt and Howard Kaplan (University of South Florida)
06
viz134HR-2400px
"Polymer Micro-Structure Self-Assembly," People's Choice, Photography:

Illustrations by Quintin Anderson (The Seagull Company); Chad Mirkin and Sarah Petrosko (Northwestern University)
07
viz148HR-resize
"Spherical Nucleic Acids," People's Choice, Video ([watch video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxRQ1-MI24g))
Illustrations by Stephen Francis Lowry (Steve Lowry Photography)
08
viz133HR-2400px
"Stellate leaf hairs on Deutzia Scabra," Honorable Mention, Photography

Illustrations by Greg Shirah, Horace Mitchell (NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center -- SVS), Tom Bridgman (Global Science & Technology, Inc.)
09
Viz144HR-660
"Dynamic Earth Visualization Excerpt: Coronal Mass Ejection and Ocean/Wind Circulation," First Place, Video ([watch video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hD52H7rQak))
Illustrations by Doug Huff and Elizabeth Anderson (Arkitek Studios), Zoltan Fehervari (Nature Immunology), and Simon Fenwick (Nature Reviews)
10
viz146HR-resize
"Immunology of the Gut Mucosa," Honorable Mention, Video ([watch video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnZEge78_78))

Robert Saye and James Sethian (UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)
11
bubbles
"The Life Cycle of a Bubble Cluster: Insight from Mathematics, Algorithms, and Supercomputer," Informational Posters & Graphics, Honorable Mention ([See full-size image](http://stag4.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2014/02/bubbles.jpg))
Illustrations by Geoffrey Harlow, Shou Li, Albert Cruz, Jisheng Chen, Zhenbiao Yang (UC-Riverside)
12
vix147hr-resize
"Visualizing Leaf Cells from Within," Honorable Mention, Video ([watch video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIc02tFoZ40&feature=youtu.be))

Illustrations by Ben Paylor, Mike Long, Jim Till, Janet Rossant, Mick Bhatia, David Murawsky, and James Wallace (Stem Cell Nettwork)
13
viz145HR-resize
"Stem Cell Shorts," Honorable Mention, Video ([watch video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hbgeQzmU9U&feature=youtu.be))
Katelyn McDonald and Timothy Phelps (Johns Hopkins University) and Jennifer DIttmar (The National Aquarium)
14
turtles
"Effects of Cold-stunning on Sea Turtles," Information Posters & Graphics, Honorable Mention ([See full-size image](http://stag4.wired.com/images_blogs/wiredscience/2014/02/turtles.jpg))

Illustrations by Eve Syrkin Wurtele, William Schneller, Paul Klippel, Greg Hanes, and Diane Bassham (Iowa State University)
15
Viz143HR-resize
"Meta!Blast: The Leaf," Interactive Games, People's Choice ([Play](http://metnet-mbl.gdcb.iastate.edu/scivis2013))
Illustrations by Mark Nielsen, Satoshi Amagai, Blake Porch, Dennis Liu (HHMI); Michael Clark (EarthBuzz Software, Ltd)
16
Viz141HR-resize
"EarthViewer," Honorable Mention, Interactive Games ([Explore](http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/earthviewer))

Illustrations by Amy Robinson, William Silversmith, Matthew Balkam, Mark Richardson, Sebastian Seung, Jinseop Kim (EyeWire)
17
viz140HR-resize
"EyeWire: A Game to Map the Brain," First Place, Interactive Games ([Play](www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/earthviewer))
Daniel Rohrlick, Eric Simms, Cheryl Peach, Debi Kilb (Scripps Institution of Oceanography), and Charina Cain (Birch Aquarium at SIO)
18
Viz142HR
"Deep-sea Extreme Environment Pilot (DEEP)", Honorable Mention, Interactive Games ([Play](http://siogames.ucsd.edu/deep.html))

Wrongful Arrest Exposes Failures in One of the Oldest Police Face-Recognition Tools in the US

The ACLU is suing two Florida police departments over the arrest of a Fort Myers man in a child-abduction case, saying officers treated a flawed face-recognition match as a near-certain ID.

Dell Cameron

China Opens World’s First Wind-Powered Underwater Data Center

With an initial capacity of 24 megawatts, the innovative data center uses seawater as a natural cooling system.

Fernanda González

These Are the Best $400 Digital Notebooks

The newest Kindle Scribe means there are now three digital notebooks you can buy in the $400 price range. Here’s which one you should get.

Nena Farrell

The Best Kindles to Take Your Library Anywhere

I’ve tried every single Kindle. Here’s how Amazon’s ebook readers stack up.

Nena Farrell

Get the Most Out of Your iPad With These Accessories

Kit out your Apple tablet with our favorite stands, cases, keyboards, and styli.

Julian Chokkattu

Finally, Some Affordable Laptops That Won’t Fail You in College

Laptops for college should be portable, offer long battery life, and remain reasonably affordable. Based on testing hundreds of laptops, these are my top picks.

Luke Larsen

Amnesty International Warns That World Cup Fans Face Potential Human Rights Violations

The organization claims that the FIFA tournament could have impacts on the rights of local people and visiting soccer fans in all three host countries.

Fernanda González

The World Cup’s Trionda Ball Challenges Traditional Aerodynamics

According to new research, Trionda would show less unpredictable movements in actions such as corner kicks or free kicks. However, in powerful and long-distance clearances it would lose range.

Fernanda González

Soccer Fans, You’re Being Watched

From anti-drone tech to face recognition, 2026 World Cup stadiums in the US, Canada, and Mexico are subjecting fans to an array of surveillance tech. Here’s what you need to know.

Vas Panagiotopoulos

This World Cup, You Can Watch the Game From a Ref’s Point of View

Referees for the 2026 World Cup will be wearing cameras positioned at their temples, allowing TV audiences to see a live view of the pitch from a vantage point they never have before.

Ben Dowsett