David Salt is 'worth his salt,' says Science magazine

ASPB Education Foundation, NSF fund first-place interactive media project

American Society of Plant Biologists members Professor David Salt (Purdue University) and Tommy Sors (Purdue University) along with Jeremy Friedberg (Spongelab) have been awarded First Place in the Interactive Media category of the Science magazine 2008 Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge. The winning project is an interactive biology gaming module called the Genomics Digital Lab (GDL).

The Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge is a highly competitive annual competition funded by NSF to encourage researchers to bring to life the amazing array of data available in all areas of science by using images, illustrations, computer graphics, and animations. Entries must provide inspiring yet painstakingly accurate imagery since visual media is critically integral to promoting public understanding of important scientific concepts as well as for facilitating communication among the various scientific disciplines.

The GDL game module proved its worth amid a strong field of competitors representing all of the scientific disciplines. The 200+ entries from 34 states and 23 countries were carefully screened by Science and NSF staff members. Then an outside panel of experts in scientific visualization (see side bar) selected the winners and honorable mentions in each category. Full details of the competition are available at http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/scivis/index.jsp?id=win2008.

"We're delighted that the first-place visualization challenge award by Science for interactive media went to the ASPB Education Foundation's GAP-supported project for public education on plant genomics," commented Education Foundation Chair James Siedow of Duke University. "Congratulations to David, Tommy and their colleagues for this important recognition of their novel and effective approach to plant science education outreach. I want to thank our contributors and the ASPB Executive Committee who made this grant support possible in cooperation with the National Science Foundation. This first-place award from Science is another example demonstrating how ASPB member plant scientists can explore new frontiers in plant science education with the help of a funding source, such as the Foundation," Siedow added.

David Salt collaborated with Tommy Sors (Purdue University) and Jeremy Friedberg (Spongelab) to develop the Genomics Digital Lab (GDL) as part of a larger Genomics Explorer museum exhibit. Salt's interactive, walk-through plant cell exhibit was co-funded through the 2005 ASPB Education Foundation Grant Awards Program (GAP) and NSF.