Congratulations to Deborah for being selected as a finalist in the 2025 SCS Science Image Challenge with her entry, The Kiss of the Planets!
Her entry presents an SEM image that captures porous polymer-functionalized particles whose surfaces are uniformly functionalized with poly(methyl methacrylate) chains. The polymers extend between nearby particles after contact, forming bridges that reflect their prior proximity: the soft matter equivalent of a “planetary kiss” between neighboring particles.