The Glassbrain app was first used on stage in 2012 on Mickey Hart, former drummer for the Grateful Dead, to show his brain reacting to music. This screen capture won experts' choice (first place) in the games & apps category of the 2015 Visualization Challenge. Courtesy Adam Gazzaley, Roger Anguera Singla, Rajat Jain, Tim Mullen, Christian Kothe, John Fesenko, Oleg Konings, and Matt Omernick. Front image courtesy NSF/Disney/Pixar.

Computer-rendered images can be beautiful, even breathtaking at times. But what does it take to produce them?

The US National Science Foundation (NSF) is conducting a campaign that looks at the simulation, modeling, and visualization technologies behind these fantastic images. From 10 July through mid-August, the #beautyofcomputing campaign will celebrate the aesthetic and creative possibilities of computing and the power of computer-rendered images to communicate science.

Partner organizations include the Extreme Science and Engineering Environment (XSEDE), the Coalition for Academic Supercomputing Centers (CASC), and the Computing Community Consortium (CCC).

So if you create, use, or simply appreciate computer-rendered images that bring science to life, share them through social media using the #beautyofcomputing hashtag. That way, the NSF and other enthusiasts (like iSGTW) can re-tweet, favorite, or highlight your content.

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-- Greg Moore