2008 Science Idol Finalists

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Artists throughout the United States submitted hundreds of entries to the 2008 Science Idol Contest. A panel of celebrity judges including Dave Coverly, Kevin Kallaugher, Mike Keefe, Wiley Miller, and Signe Wilkinson, along with previous winner Jesse Springer, helped UCS narrow those entries down to 12 finalist cartoons.

The artists who drew these cartoons have all used their creative talent to draw attention to the misuse and distortion of federal government science. Read the individual bios below to learn more about who these artists are and why they were moved to enter the contest. To view each finalist cartoon, click on the cartoon thumbnail image below each finalist's bio.

Finalist 1: Steve Greenberg
Camarillo, CA

Steve Greenberg is no stranger to the art of political cartoons. He is the staff editorial news artist and cartoonist at the Ventura County Star and has recently self-published a book of environmental cartoons. This book, Fine-Tooning the Planet, features work that spans his thirty-year career. As a cartoonist, Greenberg has drawn many cartoons that take on political interference in science. "I have been appalled by the Bush Administration’s assaults on scientific thought and progress," Steve said, "particularly relating to its denial and inaction relating to global warming, the most severe environmental crisis of all time."

Finalist 2: Dr. Thomas Kodenkandath, Ph.D.
Highlands Ranch, CO

While he is currently working as a research scientist involved in advancing new energy technologies, Dr. Thomas Kodenkandath was a cartoonist before he was a scientist. He published his first of over 700 printed cartoons at the age of 17. He now serves as contributing cartoonist to a couple of Indian newspapers in Massachusetts, New York, and Georgia and has won several awards for his cartooning. As a scientist, Thomas has authored over 75 scientific articles and is an inventor with over 12 patents filed around the world.

Finalist 3: Steve Zafarana
Norwood, MA

Steve Zafarana works as a typeface designer for a company in Massachusetts and owns a small type foundry along with two other designers, but drawing cartoons has always been his passion. He loves anything to do with Cape Cod, reading about history and politics, kayaking on Scorton Creek, and listening to NPR on the way to work in the morning. He has also been known to give political tirades during the morning commute. "My poor wife has been forced to listen to my tirades about politics for years," he says. "Now as a matter of self-defense she mostly sleeps while we're in the car." One of Steve's cartoons received an honorable mention in last year's contest and appeared as a bonus cartoon in the 2008 Scientific Integrity Calendar. "I love the Science Idol calendar and thought this would be a great way to use my cartooning for a good cause."

Finalist 4: Peter Hess
Los Angeles, CA

Peter Hess makes a living as a designer and illustrator, but art is more to him than just a way to pay the bills. He also paints, draws, and "collects fine prints created by dead artists." The interesting thing about Science Idol, he says, "is that it seeks to make a laughing matter out of something which is really no laughing matter," a concept that Peter heartily supports. "After all, once you lose your sense of humor, there isn't much left."

Finalist 5: Ali Shahali
Reno, NV

Ever since his sister first introduced him to drawing when he was a child, art has created new windows for Ali Shahali to meet different people and discover new things. "I am very grateful for the gift of art," he said. "It has created opportunities that I only thought I could dream of." When he first read the theme for Science Idol, Ali had the idea that scientists are like artists. "They are both inventors who use creativity and fresh ideas to fuel their work. If you were to alter a scientist's discoveries, it would be the same as reworking an artist's painting."

Winner!
Finalist 6: Justin Bilicki
Brooklyn, NY

A full-time senior art director, Justin Bilicki is also a part-time editorial cartoonist and a self-reported "very part-time" musician. In his spare time, he volunteers at military and children's hospitals drawing for the sick and injured. Justin is dedicated to "redefining and saving the invaluable craft of editorial cartooning" for the benefit of future generations and was awarded the John Locher Memorial Award for Best College Cartoonist in 2000. He entered this contest because "it has become increasingly difficult to trust anything or anyone associated with power," he said. "Drawing this cartoon was my small effort at fixing this large problem." Read more about Justin here.

Finalist 7: Brian Narelle
Rohnert Park, CA

Brian Narelle is a cartoonist, screenwriter, teacher, animator, actor, pilot, and writer. He has written and animated for Sesame Street, is a puppeteer, and teaches cartooning to children at the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, CA. He has been an animator and actor in feature films, flown missions for Angel Flight--a service that provides transportation for people in need of medical care, and written a book about a donkey he once knew. While most of his adult life has focused on the arts, Brian initially went to school to study marine biology. But after bumping into "the realities of biochemistry," he changed course. "Cartooning and screenwriting became my vehicles for uncovering and expressing the truth," he said. "I left the test tubes behind." One of Brian’s cartoons received an honorable mention in last year’s contest and appeared as a bonus cartoon in the 2008 Scientific Integrity Calendar.

Finalist 8: Raul de la Nuez
Miami, FL

Raul de la Nuez is an artist. Not only has he graduated from two art schools, but he also paints, is an art director for Venevision production, and an editorial cartoonist for two newspapers in Miami: VisionIbero and Chevere News. He has participated in many cartoon contests around the world--from Syria to Colombia--and has received several cartooning awards. Entering Science Idol is his "small contribution to a noble cause," Raul said. One of his cartoons received an honorable mention in last year's contest and appeared as a bonus cartoon in the 2008 Scientific Integrity Calendar.

Finalist 9: Paul Malden
Malden, MA

Although Paul Malden works as a database manager for a private school, cartooning is never far from his mind. He published an online comic strip blog for two years called "Dead Guy," which won the 2006 Best of Blogs award for Most Humorous blog. His work has also appeared in newspapers and trade publications. Malden's new online cartoon website, "Blame My Mom" will debut this month. He entered Science Idol in order to shamelessly promote his cartoons, but also to "aid in the fight against government interference in science" so his son can "grow up in a world where people believe in old-fashioned concepts like evolution and gravity."

Finalist 10: Kevin Cannon and Eli Zigas
Minneapolis, MN and Alexandria, VA

This is the first time Kevin Cannon and Eli Zigas have ever worked together. In fact, they have never met. Kevin runs a cartooning studio with Zander Cannon (no relation) in Minnesota. They work on a variety of comics-related projects, but like to focus on nonfiction graphic novels, like their debut book about the dawn of American paleontology. Eli is a program associate at a non-profit organization that is working to end taxation without representation in our nation's capital. While both men are graduates of Grinnell College their paths never crossed until Eli had an idea for a cartoon. Kevin explained, "Eli emailed me out of the blue and asked me to illustrate a concept that he had. I knew about the contest, and had considered entering, but I didn't have any solid gags until I got that email from Eli." Since Eli "can't draw," he was happy to work with such an "awesome illustrator." Even though they have never met, they share the same passion for scientific integrity. "Science itself has no agenda. Truths about atoms, chemistry, and genetics exist regardless of which party is in the White House," Kevin said. "When groups interfere with the scientific method, they stain and ruin the findings, no matter how benevolent or innocuous they believe their agenda to be."

Finalist 11 and 12: Justin DeFreitas
Berkeley, California

An accomplished editorial cartoonist, Justin DeFreitas is a writer, editor, and cartoonist for the Berkeley Daily Planet and a cartoonist for the West Marin Citizen. His primary interests include politics and film: the two subjects about which he draws and writes for a living. It has been disheartening, he says, to watch the current administration not only ignore science, but also censor, intimidate, obfuscate, and falsify scientific data. Justin entered Science Idol because "the nature of the topic and the political hypocrisy involved appeals directly to the essence of political cartooning, which is to call attention to corruption hypocrisy, and arrogance in government."