Weliton Menário Costa of the Australian National University won the 2024 Dance Your PhD contest with "Kangaroo Time."
We've been following the annual Dance Your PhD contest for several years now, delighting in the many creative approaches researchers have devised to adapt their doctoral theses into movement—from "nano-sponge" materials and superconductivity to the physics of atmospheric molecular clusters and the science of COVID-19. This year's winner is Weliton Menário Costa of the Australian National University for his thesis "Personality, Social Environment, and Maternal-level Effects: Insights from a Wild Kangaroo Population." His video entry, "Kangaroo Time," is having a bit of a viral moment, charming viewers with its catchy beat and colorful, quirky mix of dance styles and personalities—both human and kangaroo.
As we reported previously , the Dance Your PhD contest was established in 2008 by science journalist John Bohannon. It was previously sponsored by Science magazine and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and is now sponsored by the AI company Primer, where Bohannon is the director of science. Bohannon told Slate in 2011 that he came up with the idea while trying to figure out how to get a group of stressed-out PhD students in the middle of defending their theses to let off a little steam. So he put together a dance party at Austria's Institute of Molecular Biotechnology , including a contest for whichever candidate could best explain their thesis topics with interpretive dance.
The contest was such a hit that Bohannon started getting emails asking when the next would be—and Dance Your PhD has continued ever since. It's now in its 16th year. There are four broad categories: physics, chemistry, biology, and social science, with a fairly liberal interpretation of what topics fall under each. All category winners receive $750, while Costa, as the overall champion, will receive an additional $2,000.
A native of Brazil, Costa earned a PhD in ecology from ANU in 2021 after spending several years studying eastern gray kangaroos, using a remote-controlled car to determine their distinct personalities. For example, some were bold and would approach the car out of curiosity; others were shyer and would avoid the car. Among his chief findings: Kangaroos like to socialize in groups but prefer smaller social circles. Kangaroo personalities emerge early, just like in humans, with mothers, offspring, and siblings often having similar personalities. But their personalities are also somewhat flexible; kangaroos will adjust their behavior based on social cues from the kangaroos around them.
When it came time to translate his research into movement, Costa decided to represent the rich diversity of kangaroo behavior with an equally diverse collection of dancers and dance styles: classical ballet, Brazilian funk, and urban styles, to name a few. Everyone was free to improvise their moves, with the only instruction being to mingle with others and slowly unify as a group. Costa joined in, adapting his dance style throughout to match other dancers, thus mimicking how kangaroos adapt their personalities to fit into a group. There's even a behind-the-scenes video, which you can watch here .
"There was a sense of surprise and delight in it," visual artist Alexa Meade, one of the content judges, told Science about why they selected Costa's entry. "You could tell they were having fun through the process, that it wasn't this labored, stressful experience."
Costa is the first ANU researcher to win the contest and only the fourth Australian. "I think it not only shows the incredible might of the research conducted here in Australia but also how creative we are as a nation. Even us scientists," Costa said of his win. "One of the main messages I wanted to convey through this piece of work is that differences lead to diversity, and this is evident throughout the entire video. It's evident with the different dancers that herald from various cultures and backgrounds." Costa is pursuing music as "Dr. WELI," and "Kangaroo Time" is one of four songs on his debut EP, Yours Academically, Dr. WELI . But he'll still be working at ANU as a visiting fellow until early 2025.
Check out the winners of the chemistry, physics, and biology categories on the next page.
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"One small nanoparticle to rule them all" —
Tiny “nano-sponges” inspire killer moves in 2023 dance your phd winning video, the fun side of serious science: "we’re just normal, fun, creative people.”.
Jennifer Ouellette - Mar 20, 2023 6:26 pm UTC
University of Oregon chemist Checkers Marshall took top honors in the 2023 Dance Your PhD contest, combining hand fans, blue balloons, and original lyrics to make a dance video explaining their work on "nano-sponge" materials for use in carbon capture and drug delivery. Other winning videos provided creative takes on how local trees in the Amazon rainforest produce a protective hormone in response to drought; diffusing ions at the nanoscale, illustrated with a tango; and an artificial intelligence model called PsychGenerator that aims to bring personality and mental health attributes to AI.
As we've reported previously , the Dance Your PhD contest was established in 2008 by science journalist John Bohannon. It was previously sponsored by Science magazine and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and is now sponsored by AI company Primer, where Bohannon is the director of science. Bohannon told Slate in 2011 that he came up with the idea while trying to figure out how to get a group of stressed-out PhD students in the middle of defending their theses to let off a little steam. So he put together a dance party at Austria's Institute of Molecular Biotechnology , including a contest for whichever candidate could best explain their thesis topics with interpretive dance.
The contest was such a hit that Bohannon started getting emails asking when the next would be—and Dance Your PhD has continued ever since. It's now in its 15th year. There are four broad categories: physics, chemistry, biology, and social science, with a fairly liberal interpretation of what topics fall under each. Winners were chosen from 28 entries submitted from 12 different countries. All category winners receive $500, while Marshall, as the overall champion, will receive an additional $2,000. And the contest has a new sponsor this year: Sandbox AQ , an Alphabet spinoff focused on tackling large problems by bringing together artificial intelligence and quantum technologies.
Marshall's PhD thesis dealt with metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), crystalline polymer materials formed by binding metal ions with polydentate organic linkers. The resulting porous network is sponge-like, making these materials ideal for carbon capture applications, as well as drug delivery, detoxifying nerve agents, and water purification. Marshall aims to make smaller and more efficient MOFs. These nano-MOFs can be modified by adding a molecule to stop the crystal's growth or removing an electron to free up the flow of electrons through the structure.
Marshall shot their video in the lab and a friend's backyard. They brought high school and college videomaking experience to the project, as well as a long-standing love of juggling, spinning, and other forms of "flow arts." For instance, Marshall used fans to represent the electrons in a standard MOF—“I can’t dance unless there’s something in my hands"—passing the fans back and forth with a friend to show how metal ions (represented by blue papier-mâché balloons) exchange electrons.
To represent the nano-MOFs, Marshall used a toy Hoberman sphere , a popular child's toy inspired by the isokinetic structure patented by artist and engineer Chuck Hoberman. It looks like a geodesic dome, but thanks to joints that act like scissors, the sphere can fold into a fraction of its original size.
Marshall even wrote their own music, having written and performed slam poetry for years, complete with a sly reference to The Lord of the Rings trilogy. “I thought, ‘How can I make my thesis into a one-page slam poem? How can I make it, like, sound cool? And hopefully make it rhyme a little bit,’” Marshall told Science . “Making the video and writing my thesis were approximately an equal amount of work. [But these initiatives] really help aspiring scientists see this other side of science where we’re also just normal, fun, creative people.”
Check out the winners of the biology, physics, and social sciences categories below.
Biology category winner
Israel Sampaio Filho, National Institute of Amazonian Research, Leaf abscisic acid (ABA) biosynthesis: the main source of Amazon rainforest response to warming
Physics category winner
Dr. Evgenii Glushkov, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, Exploring optically active defects in wide-bandgap materials using fluorescence microscopy
Social Sciences category winner
Huy Vu, Stony Brook University, Artificial Intelligence with Personality
Listing image by Checkers Marshal
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A dance contest let this grad student share his research and celebrates his identity
Science magazine's annual contest "Dance Your PhD" invites grad students to present their research through dance. This year's winner, Weliton Menário Costa, showcased his work on kangaroo behavior.
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This is the 16th year of the “Dance Your Ph.D.” contest run by AAAS and Science, and now sponsored by the artificial intelligence and quantum technology company SandboxAQ. Prizes: Category winners receive $750.
We've been following the annual Dance Your PhD contest for several years now, delighting in the many creative approaches researchers have devised to adapt their doctoral theses into movement...
Antonia Groneberg's innovative depiction of zebrafish brain development has just reeled in Science's annual "Dance Your Ph.D." prize. A dancer since she was young, Groneberg taught students jazz and modern dance as a side job while pursuing a doctorate in neuroscience at Champalimaud Research.
The Lithuanian scientist’s colorful and clever interpretation of the electric stimulation of yeast—replete with people representing prancing cells and mouthwatering baked goods—is the winner of this year’s “Dance Your Ph. D.” contest.
The Dance Your Ph.D. contest is meant to get scientists to explain their research through dance. This year's winners created a choreographed rap video to explain how clouds are formed.
Finnish researcher Jakub Kubecka won this year's Dance Your PhD contest with a rap-based dance inspired by his work on the physics of atmospheric molecular clusters.
We've been following the annual Dance Your PhD contest for several years now, delighting in the many creative approaches researchers have devised to adapt their doctoral theses into movement—from "nano-sponge" materials and superconductivity to the physics of atmospheric molecular clusters and the science of COVID-19.
Dance Your Ph.D. is an international science competition founded by John Bohannon, who studies microbiology and artificial intelligence, is a former contributing correspondent for Science, and the current Director of Science for Primer.ai.
University of Oregon chemist Checkers Marshall took top honors in the 2023 Dance Your PhD contest, combining hand fans, blue balloons, and original lyrics to make a dance video explaining...
Science magazine's annual contest "Dance Your PhD" invites grad students to present their research through dance. This year's winner, Weliton Menário Costa, showcased his work on kangaroo...