Data Visualization and Storytelling Competition

AGU MICHAEL H. FREILICH STUDENT VISUALIZATION COMPETITION PROGRAM

Competition overview

Powerful visuals can often evoke excitement and emotion, driving a deeper level of engagement with the audience and subject matter being presented. The AGU Michael H. Freilich Student Visualization Competition Program provides an opportunity for students to demonstrate creative ways to use visualization to present complex problems in the Earth and space sciences as well as transdisciplinary sciences.

The competition is open to individual and teams of undergraduate and graduate students who are legal U.S. residents. This program recognizes the years of support and dedication Michael H. Freilich, former Director of the NASA Earth Science Division, provided students in the Earth and space science community.

Winners receive travel grants funded by AGU, complimentary registration to the AGU Fall Meeting, and the opportunity to present their visually-based story on the NASA Hyperwall. This competition is funded by a NASA grant.

Competition overview

Eligibility and application requirements

The competition is open to students who are legal U.S. residents and enrolled full-time in two- or four-year undergraduate or graduate institutions in the U.S.  Previous grand prize winners of the Data Visualization and Storytelling Competition are not eligible to apply. Individual submissions in the Earth and space sciences as well as team submissions in convergent science are acceptable. Co-authors can be recognized in both individual and team submissions. Team submissions should be comprised of at least two people and no more than five contributors. If submitting as a team, the team must identify a project lead, who is also responsible for submitting the proposal. proposal and identify how award funds will be distributed between team members. All members of the team must be students and at least one team member should be formally enrolled in a degree program in one of the following fields: social, behavioral, or economic sciences; computer and informational science and engineering; education and human resources. Applicants are limited one proposal per year and may not resubmit a specific presentation proposal more than once.

Applications must contain the following information and applicants should review the Hyperwall How-to Guide for tips.

  • 1
    Project lead’s academic transcript as proof of current student enrollment.
  • 2
    One- to two-paragraph statement of purpose describing the data used and what the scientific potential is for that data.
  • 3
    Description of data set used, and for any non-NASA data sets, details on authorization of use.
  • 4
    Proposed story and visualization for a presentation no longer than 10 minutes.
  • 5
    Static images and planned visualizations in storyboard format with supporting text of narration and details on how the visualization should work.
  • 6
    Optional: Up to three MP4 files of a one- to three-minute building block/sample of visualization.
  • 7
    For team submissions: Describe the potential benefits of working beyond discipline-specific approaches to collaboratively address common goals.

Evaluation criteria

The competition is focused on innovation and creativity in presenting data in new ways, rather than the scientific problem or specific solution to the problem.

Submissions will be judged on the following criteria:

  • The creativity of the presentation and the applicant’s ability to present data and complex problems.

  • The perceived level of impact and engagement the planned presentation incites in audience.

  • The organization and conceivability of the proposed presentation of data.

  • For team submissions, contributing participants must demonstrate collaboration in data sharing.

Evaluation Criteria

Prize details

The review committee will select a total of 16 winners, eight grand prize winners and eight runners-up, for the competition. Grant prize winners will be provided professional development opportunities for a duration of three years. If a team is selected as a winner, the team lead will designate how to divide the grant funds. Complimentary AGU Fall Meeting registration will only be awarded to the team lead.

Grand prize winners will receive the following:

  • $3000 grant to attend the 2020 AGU Fall Meeting online

  • One complimentary registration to the 2020 AGU Fall Meeting, including registration to the Student and Early Career Scientist Conference

  • Opportunity to virtually present on the NASA Hyperwall at the 2020 AGU Fall Meeting online and potentially other scientific meetings featuring the NASA Hyperwall (decision regarding presentation at other meetings is made by NASA)

  • Up to $3,000 to participate in one additional professional development or community outreach opportunity

  • Opportunity to receive mentorship through Mentoring365 and network with other Earth and space scientists

Runners-up will receive the following:

  • $1000 grant to attend the 2020 AGU Fall Meeting online

  • One complimentary registration to the 2020 AGU Fall Meeting, including registration to the Student and Early Career Scientist Conference

  • Opportunity to receive mentorship through Mentoring365 and network with other Earth and space scientists

Financial grant prizes will be awarded to qualifying participants.

Award funds will be disbursed after each confirmation of attendance. Recipients must submit to AGU receipts of conference attendance.

Funds will be dispersed to recipient via electronic payment by AGU.

Past Winners

Name

Academic institution

Year

Category

Owen Evans

Columbia University of New York

2018

Grand Prize

Meghan Jones

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

2018

Grand Prize

Megan Link

James Madison University

2018

Grand Prize

Akshay Mehra

Princeton University

2018

Grand Prize

Jack Miller

Iowa State University

2018

Grand Prize

Aleks Siemenn

University at Albany - SUNY

2018

Grand Prize

Alison Thieme

University of Maryland

2018

Grand Prize

Jacob Adler

Arizona State University

2018

Runner-up

Behzad Ahmadi

Portland State University

2018

Runner-up

Anastasia Alexandrova

Wayne State University

2018

Runner-up

Kara Cassano

Texas A&M University

2018

Runner-up

Corbin Kling

North Carolina State University

2018

Runner-up

Rich Pauloo

University of California Davis

2018

Runner-up

Amir Salaree

Northwestern University

2018

Runner-up

Andrea Albright

University of Houston

2017

Grand Prize

Parker Hinton

University of Colorado at Boulder

2017

Grand Prize

Rebecca Lehman

Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies

2017

Grand Prize

Yu Mo

University of Maryland

2017

Grand Prize

Jason West

University of Colorado at Boulder

2017

Grand Prize

Mahkameh Zarekarizi

Portland State University

2017

Grand Prize

Bogumilia Backiel

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

2017

Runner-up

Chelsea Johnson

Georgia Institute of Technology

2017

Runner-up

Akshay Mehra

Princeton University

2017

Runner-up

Yusuf Sermet

University of Iowa

2017

Runner-up

Alison Thieme

University of Maryland

2017

Runner-up

Anne Wilkinson

University of Minnesota

2017

Runner-up

Allison Daniel

University of Alabama, Huntsville

2016

Grand Prize

Kaytan Kelkar

Texas A&M University

2016

Grand Prize

Matthew Ross

Duke University

2016

Grand Prize

Mejs Hasan

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

2016

Grand Prize

Sara Lubkin

Northern Virginia Community College

2016

Grand Prize

Akshay Mehra

Princeton University

2016

Runner-up

John Granholm

Appalachian State University

2016

Runner-up

Lana Narine

Texas A&M University

2016

Runner-up

Meredith Goebel

Stanford University

2016

Runner-up

Sophie Goliber

University at Buffalo, SUNY

2016

Runner-up