SfN Announces Winners of 2016 Brain Awareness Video Contest
The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) announced the winners of the annual Brain Awareness Video Contest, with winning topics covering synesthesia, language processing, and “DressGate.” Contest participants work with an SfN member to produce an educational video that explains a neuroscience concept in a way that a broad audience can understand. Scientists evaluated the video submissions for accuracy as well as creativity, and the top 10 videos will join more than 1,000 resources on the brain and nervous system available on BrainFacts.org.
1st Place: "Hearing Red, Tasting Blue: When the Senses Mix!"
Akshay Balaji, a Northern Virginia high school student, won $1,000 and a trip to this year’s SfN annual meeting in San Diego for his video on what happens when the senses mix. Balaji worked with SfN member Monica Gertz of George Mason University to submit the video.
2nd Place: "Your Babbling Brain"
Flora Vanlangendonck and Ruben van Bergen of Radboud University in the Netherlands won $500 for their video on the history of different neuroscience discoveries related to language. They worked with SfN member Atsuko Takashima of Radboud University.
3rd Place: "Unlocking DressGate”
Nevada high schoolers Morgan Heath-Powers, Nikolai Oh, and Roshan Panda won $250 for their video on the differences in visual perception that lead to the internet phenomenon of the white gold dress. They worked with SfN member Amy Altick of the University of Nevada-Reno.
Honorable Mention: "The Nose Knows: Smell, Memory, and Emotion"
This video by Maryland high schoolers Juliana Lu-Yang and Anna Barth explains how something as simple as smell can trigger big memories. They worked with SfN member Raymond Scott Turner of Georgetown University.
People’s Choice Award: The top 10 videos compete for SfN’s $500 People’s Choice Award. The public is invited to view the videos and vote for their favorite at BrainFacts.org/BAVC. Voting closes on September 30.
The Brain Awareness Video Contest is one of many ways that SfN participates in the global Brain Awareness Week campaign — a series of events held each spring at institutions around the world to promote, advocate for, and support brain science and research. Launched by The Dana Foundation in 1996, the global coalition of Brain Awareness Week partners now includes more than 2,000 universities, elementary and secondary schools, hospitals, patient groups, museums, government agencies, service organizations, and professional associations. The next Brain Awareness Week campaign is scheduled for March 13-19.
Awards and prizes for the winners of the Brain Awareness Video Contest and People’s Choice Award will be presented at SfN’s annual meeting, Neuroscience 2016, taking place November 12-16 in San Diego. With more than 30,000 attendees, the meeting is the world’s largest source of emerging news on brain science and health.
