Media Advisory: U.S. crystal contest judging to occur Saturday at UB

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Judging for the U.S. Crystal Growing Competition begins this weekend at the University at Buffalo, and news media are invited to check out the action.

Now in its ninth year, the contest received more than 160 entrants this year – more than any previous year. Judges will examine the crystals and award prizes for best overall, best quality and coolest crystals.

When: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 14.

Where: Room 306, Natural Sciences Complex.

Visuals: The crystals vary is size, shape and color. Organizers will examine everything from clear, diamond-shaped specimens to colorful crystals and crystals grown to resemble Christmas trees and other shapes.

“From snow to salt to computers, crystals are all around us and impact many aspects of our daily lives,” contest founder Jason Benedict, PhD, associate professor of chemistry in the University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences, said in September. “The U.S. Crystal Growing Competition gives parents, educators and children all across the country the opportunity to watch these incredible objects grow right before their eyes, learn about the science of crystals, and win awesome prizes.”

Additional info: https://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2022/09/013.html.

The contest’s organizers — known as the Crystallites — include Jason Benedict and Tasha Benedict at UB; Karah Knope, PhD, at Georgetown University; Michael Nippe, PhD, at Texas A&M University; Jeff Rack, PhD, at the University of New Mexico; and Fernando Uribe-Romo, PhD, at the University of Central Florida.

The U.S. Crystal Growing Competition is sponsored by the American Crystallographic Association (which is based in Buffalo); the U.S. National Science Foundation; VWR and Ward’s Science; the UB Department of Chemistry; Georgetown University Department of Chemistry; the Texas A&M Department of Chemistry; the University of Central Florida Department of Chemistry; the University of New Mexico Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology; the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering; the Western New York section of the American Chemical Society; Bruker; Krackeler Scientific; Rigaku; and individuals who have made donations.