We are thrilled to announce the winners of Paradise Valley Community College’s first-ever STEAM Art competition! This event brought together the creative and analytical minds of our community, showcasing the beautiful intersection of science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and art. With 14 submissions from nine talented students, faculty, and staff, the competition was fierce and the artwork inspiring. Winners were selected and awards were distributed from the PVCC Fund for Excellence.
"The STEAM committee’s hope for this competition was to motivate students, faculty and staff on our campus to create visual depictions of STEAM concepts,” explained David Bradley, PVCC art faculty. “These works of art will be used in the classrooms and labs to help students who might struggle to understand concepts by providing these visual examples. The submissions are creative and informative, and represent a wide range of perspectives of science, technology, engineering, and math."
Top awards, $200 each, went to William Ruff for ‘Banana Calculus’ and Cheryl Chlebowski for ‘Fibonacci in Nature 1.”
Ruff’s ‘Banana Calculus’ demonstrated how integrals are used to find the volume of solids in Calculus. Ruff used a banana as his 3D solid because “it is not a normal solid and has curves, which helped to demonstrate the concept easier.” He explained that his main goal was to visually display the different planes that are used to find volume.
Chlebowski, on the other hand, focused on how the Fibonacci sequence exists in nature. “I initially found the STEAM concept and competition challenging to understand, but when photography professor, Kip Sudduth, told me about the Fibonacci sequence the possibilities were endless. After documenting the sequence, I found other visuals and concepts that fulfilled the criteria of the competition and ended up with four entries.”
Chlebowski, who won an additional three rewards, added, “The competition was great fun! I was able to practice my photography skills and enjoyed learning new things.”
Honorable Mentions ($50 each):
- Yiinyuy for Microbial Majesty
- Katerina Socio Garcia for Mind, Body and Soul
- Cheryl Chlebowski for Environmental Impact
- Shoshanna Landis for Surreal Pigments
Merit Awards ($25 each):
- Jovin Killpack for Molecule Diagram
- Cheryl Chlebowski for Architecture
- Cheryl Chlebowski for Non-visual Fibonacci
- Lainie Ermann for Microbiology Network
- Caron Sada for We Are Unique/We Are the Same
- Caron Sada for Four Goals of Psychology
- Newton Copp for Empiricism, Walking Towards Dawn
- Newton Copp for Life Cycle: Concept of Biological Cycles in the Biosphere
“This competition was more than just a contest; it was a celebration of creativity, critical thinking, and the powerful synergy between art and science,” said Bradley. “I hope the competition becomes an annual event to motivate students and staff to create art that explains and enriches STEM concepts for learners in those fields.”
For more information on PVCC’s STEAM programs, visit our website.