Sulo Roukka is recognized as this year’s overall winner of the Dance Your PhD contest, claiming the top spot in the chemistry category as well.
The annual Dance Your PhD contest has once again celebrated its winners, where young scientists creatively express the core ideas of their doctoral research through dance. This year, Sulo Roukka from the University of Helsinki took home the title of overall champion, while also winning in the chemistry category. His research focuses on chemesthesis, particularly how individuals perceive various sensory food compounds, including the heat of capsaicin and the coolness of menthol.
Founded in 2008 by science journalist John Bohannon, now a data scientist at South Park Commons, the Dance Your PhD initiative encourages scholars to explore academic concepts through an unconventional medium. Bohannon conceived the idea while seeking a way to alleviate stress among PhD candidates defending their theses. His solution involved organizing a dance party at Austria’s Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, featuring a contest for the best interpretive thesis presentation.
The enthusiastic response to the inaugural event prompted Bohannon to continue the contest, which has now been running for 17 years. The competition features four main categories: physics, chemistry, biology, and social science, each allowing for a broad interpretation of relevant subject matter. The winners in each category receive $750, while Roukka’s achievements net him an additional $2,750 as the overall champion.
This year’s competition was sponsored by Sandbox AQ, a company focused on artificial intelligence and large-scale quantitative models. A notable element of the 2025 contest was a special $750 prize awarded for dances themed around AI and quantum science. This prize was claimed by Arfor Houwman from the University of Innsbruck, recognized for his dance video elaborating on the physics of laser cooling and ultracold atoms. Bohannon remarked that all winners this year were from Europe, stating, “This year, American scientists did not seem to be in the mood to dance. Lucky for the world, Europe’s scientists have doubled their creativity and enthusiasm.”
