Astronomy and physics met acrylic paint, clay, LED lights and Sharpies Monday night in an an art competition that challenged popular conceptions of art and science.

True to its name, the Universal Art Competition features astronomy art represented through a wide variety of mediums and created by students from diverse academic backgrounds, said Zach Fifer, vice president of the Society of Physics Students.

"It was pretty mixed," he said. "We had art majors, science majors and a librarian submit pieces."

Submissions were placed in representational, photography, mythology/history and miscellaneous categories. Attendees of the reception were asked to fill out a ballot indicating their favorite work from each, as well as their favorite piece overall.

Jeremy White, a senior at the University of Southern Florida majoring in computer science, was awarded the grand prize.

The contest was developed by students in response to the United Nations' declaration of 2009 as the International Year of Astronomy, Therese Jones, president of the Society of Physics Students, said.

Jones (senior-astronomy) said one of the missions of the program is to place astronomy art in unexpected locations. She said the pieces submitted to the competition would be on display in the Gateway to the Sciences overpass through Wednesday, and would move to the Sparks Gallery from there.

The competition, sponsored by Sigma Pi Sigma and the Society of Physics Students, was designed to expose students to experiences outside of their usual interests, Fifer (senior-physics and mathematics) said.

"We're hoping to get scientists more interested in art, and artists more interested in science," he said.

Jane Charlton, professor of astronomy and astrophysics, said she felt the event highlighted the necessary link between art and science.

"Scientists are a creative bunch, and I think they sometimes feel quite stifled," she said. "This gives them an opportunity to explore that side of themselves."

Paintings and sculptures included subjects such as Stonehenge, stars and volcanoes. Shawn Sinawa (freshman-astronomy and physics) used a makeshift, darkened room and glow-in-the-dark paint to model the Local Group of galaxies, which is the highest order of organization in the universe, he said.

One submission, labeled "sharpie on drywall," featured existential poetry involving technical scientific terms.

An excerpt from the piece reads "I start to talk about thermonuclear fusion, but you laugh at the absurdity. -- yours and mine."