AAAS
1200 New York Avenue NW
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Contact: John Bohannon, Ph.D.
gonzo@aaas.org
617-852-0739
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dancing Scientists? Announcing the 2010 “Dance Your Ph.D.” Contest
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 3, 2010) – Who said scientists can’t dance? The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is proud to announce the third annual “Dance Your Ph.D.” interpretative dance video contest. The contest, which is open to anyone with a Ph.D. or pursuing a Ph.D. in a science-related field, asks scientists to transform their research into an interpretive dance. Winners of each of the four categories (physics, chemistry, biology, and social sciences) will receive $500, then compete head-to-head for an additional $500 grand prize for best overall dance. Submissions are due by September 1, 2010. All winning dances will be screened at the Imagine Science Film Festival in New York City in mid-October, where the best overall dance will be determined by a panel of judges and the audience. A more detailed description of the rules and how to enter can be found at http://gonzolabs.org/dance/.
The “Dance Your Ph.D.” contest is the brainchild of John Bohannon, blogger at Gonzo Labs and contributing writer for Science magazine. Bohannon believes the contest is a fun and unusual way to engage the public with extremely complex and technical science concepts. “Usually when scientists try to explain their research, it's a jargon-filled mess. Strange as it may seem, watching a scientist DANCE their research can make it easier to understand. And sometimes it's even beautiful. Or at least hilarious,” he said. The first contest, held in 2008, attracted 12 submissions. In 2009, it received more than 100. Last year’s winning dances can be viewed at http://gonzolabs.org/dance/2009/contestants/. Entries for the 2010 contest will be posted at http://gonzolabs.org/dance/videos/. Please contact John Bohannon at gonzo@aaas.org with questions or for more information.
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The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world's largest general scientific society and publisher of the journals, Science, Science Signaling, and Science Translational Medicine. AAAS was founded in 1848, and serves 262 affiliated societies and academies of science, reaching 10 million individuals. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world, with an estimated total readership of 1 million. The non-profit AAAS is open to all and fulfills its mission to “advance science and serve society” through initiatives in science policy; international programs; science education; public engagement; and more.