Artists throughout the United States submitted hundreds of entries to the 2007 Science Idol Contest. A panel of celebrity judges including Garry Trudeau, Tom Toles, and Dave Coverly, along with previous winner James McLeod, 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.

Order your 2008 scientific integrity calendar featuring all twelve finalists and several bonus cartoons.

Matt Bors
Portland, OR

Matt is a cartoonist and illustrator. He does a weekly political and social commentary cartoon for numerous alternative weekly publications and his work has appeared in The Nation, The Boston Phoenix, Seattle Weekly, and the New York Press.  Matt perceives the assault on science as a threat our ability to learn about the world.  "When it comes down to it, the ability to do honest research and gather empirical data is the only way of obtaining knowledge about the world," Matt said.  "When that is threatened, we can't make informed decisions about life, government, science, and medicine."

Brian Orr
Walsenberg, CO

Brian is a journalist, illustrator, graphic designer, and cartoonist.  He has been cartooning since he was 14 years old and had a comic strip in his junior high school newspaper.  Now, he has a daily comic strip in three regional newspapers.  He lives with his family in a rural county that is bigger than Rhode Island, but with only two stop lights.  Because he sees science as the pursuit of knowledge, he recognizes the importance of scientific integrity.  Science must be "untainted by any agenda, hopes, or preference for some particular result," Brian said. Brian was profiled in the Denver Post as a finalist in this contest. 

Matthew Shultz
Brooklyn, NY
Matthew is a full-time creative freelancer, which means that he has taken on a variety of self-described "weird" assignments.  Although he prefers drawing funny pictures, he has created silly songs, skits, and video essays for podcasts, book illustrations, and, one summer when he was in college, caricatures of people's pets.  "Politics divides us so sharply right now," Matthew said.  "That's why it seems to me to be more important than ever that we're able to trust the work of legitimate scientists. Science provides us with an increasingly rare opportunity to be talking with each other in the same language."

Jen Sorensen
Charlottesville, VA
Jen is a self-syndicated cartoonist with a weekly strip that appears in alternative newspapers around the country.  It has also been printed in the Los Angels Times and Ms. magazine.  Her work has also been featured in several editions of The Best Political Cartoons of the Year.  She has been concerned about the undermining of science over the past several years and has drawn several cartoons on the topic.  "How can we create, and vote on, rational policy when the facts themselves are being rewritten?" Jen said.  "That the administration chose to ignore EPA scientists' warnings about Ground Zero air quality after 9/11 was, I would argue, a grave betrayal of the public trust."

Jesse Springer (winner!)
Eugene, OR
Jesse, a self-employed graphic designer, may not be a scientist himself, but he's closely linked to science by marriage.  His wife is a middle school science teacher who comes from a long line of scientists and engineers.  He is an aspiring political cartoonist who hopes to use his creativity to make the world better.  "Cartoons are a powerful medium--they can reach, and potentially educate, a tremendous number of people," Jesse said. "If I can draw some compelling cartoons that shed light on the negative impact of governmental interference with science, and more people become aware of the problem as a result, then perhaps we can start to see a change for the better."

Tim White
Effingham, NH
Tim, a bicycle mechanic and cross-country ski salesman, makes full use of the beautiful New Hampshire environment.  He hikes, cross-country skis, cycles, and kayaks.  He is also a freelance cartoonist and writer.  Tim has tried to live in such a way as to make only a small negative impact on the environment around him, a decision that is supported by his interest in bike commuting and his involvement with local conservation organizations and efforts. When a friend told him about Science Idol he entered because, simply, "it seemed like a great thing to support.  We can't make good decisions without good information."    

Phil Witte
Piedmont, CA

 
Phil works full-time as a business litigation partner at a law firm outside San Francisco.  In addition to his full-time "day-job," Phil is a part-time cartoonist and journalist.  He entered Science Idol as a way to protest the current manipulation of government science.  "Science is not liberal or conservative, Republican or Democratic.  It is truth.  People want to trust science," Phil said.  "When politicians interfere with scientific facts, the result is a corruption of both science and the political system that distorts our goals and turns us away from the path toward social good." 

Alejandro Yegros
Winthrop, MA
A teacher and web developer, Alejandro draws cartoons for his school's newspaper.  He has often drawn cartoons about science and has frequently submitted cartoons to The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, a magazine that focuses on global security news and analysis.  The importance of scientific integrity in federal government science is obvious to Alejandro.  "My perception has been that previous administrations-- regardless of political affiliation--had recognized the need to leave certain crucial areas of government depoliticized, science and federal prosecutors, for example."  Alejandro said.  "This administration has no such reservations."