Bat expert and photographer Nickolay Hristov said he would try to pay tribute to Abhijit Mahato by showing how his love for photography ignited his professional career as a scientist.In January 2008, Mahato was murdered in a random, senseless act of violence.It has been hard for the Duke community to understand this tragedy and celebrate Mahato's life, said David Bell, senior associate for academic affairs. To give Mahato a commemorative presence, his name is remembered in the form of a fellowship.His spirit and passion for science, aesthetic beauty and photography, however, are best celebrated with the annual Abhijit Mahato Memorial Lecture and image contest.Hristov, the keynote speaker at the second annual Abhijit Mahato Memorial Lecture, said that after collaborating with the National Geographic Society as an undergraduate at the University of Maine, he eventually came to a crossroads where he would have to choose between science and photography. He chose science. But, he said, it was a random photograph taken at Duke many years ago, which solidified his choice and led him to study bats. Using high speed videography, thermal imaging and advanced 3-D modeling, Hristov and his colleagues have drastically changed the view of how bats capture their prey and exit their caves."I'm doing nothing more than describing visually what happens in nature," Hristov said. In efforts similar to Hristov, individuals submitted 83 images to Mahato photography contest. The photos ranged from panoramics of light pollution over Quito, Ecuador to insulin-sensitive tissue in a mouse's rib bone and reflected either the category of making the ordinary extraordinary or sharing science and knowledge of objects through vision and imaging.The judges narrowed the field to 22 finalists. Those images were then opened to a public vote for the People's Choice award, while the judges' selected the honorable mention, and third through first-place winners. Graduate student Maciej Balajewicz's image of a compact, fluorescent light bulb won the 2011 Mahato image contest. Balajewicz, who also passed his preliminary exam just before the lecture and contest ceremony, said he chose to submit the image of bulb because "it's a simple, everyday solution to one of the world's greatest challenges.The images are on display for the rest of the year in the CIEMAS building.2011 Mahato Image contest resultsHonorable mentions:Chris Adamczyk, faculty/staff.Sophie Vos, undergraduate student.Jaclyn Lautz, graduate student.David Kornberg, undergraduate.People's choice:Yingyi Zhang, graduate student.Judges Awards:Third place: Taylor Lu, professional student.Second place: Hunter Douglas, undergraduate student.First place: Maciej Balajewicz, graduate student.
