We’ve all suffered that terrifying moment during our research when we’ve been asked what it is we’re actually doing. There’s that slight awkward pause, the sucking-in of breath through the teeth, and then… we bust out the moves and interpretive dance our way to an explanation.
Right?
Well, maybe not. But that’s the premise of Gonzolabs‘ annual Dance Your PhD contest. The objective – as if it needs clarifying – is to get PhD students to translate their thesis into a dance, getting the essentials over without all the big fancy words and silly acronyms they usually rely on. The results make for some fascinating watching, as big science concepts become filtered through the medium of dance.
The finalists have been announced, with the big announcements due on Thursday. There’s one winner from each category – physics, chemistry, biology, and social science – with an overall winner also being selected from across the four categories. Science has the final shortlisted videos over here, which I heartily recommend you check out.
My favourite: The Zirconia Monster/PhD Rock Anthem by Stephen Steiner. Although that may have something to do with my feelings of empathy towards the zirconia nanoparticle. Also, if anyone can explain to me exactly what is going on in The Effect of Western Style Diet Consumption on Epigenetic Patterns by Liza Voll, I’d be very grateful.
fresh ripostes: