Angel of the West, 2008

Stainless steel, 12′ x 12′ x 4′ (3.70 m x 3.70 x 1.20 m)

Location: The Scripps Research Institute (Jupiter, Florida)

Photograph by Christopher Fay

The sculpture plays on the striking similarity of both proportion and function of the antibody molecule and the human body. A representation of the antibody molecule, in a style [...]

Following decades of effort by engineers to build quantum supercomputers and to master quantum cryptography, today quantum physics has spawned a far more powerful technology. Applying theory developed by deceased Princeton physicist Hugh Everett III, and using little more than a piece of chewing gum, a plastic drinking straw, and a bit of uranium, San [...]

You can view the other 9 commended images on the National Geographic website

The program uses distance estimate data (based on the derivative of the iterated function) to create a height map, and then renders that height map as a colored and shaded 3D image.

Some sample images: (click each image to see a larger version on my pbase site)
Julia snowflake 3D:

Mandelbrot flower:

And a fractal mountain landscape:

If you have [...]