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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>Congratulations to the winners of the 12<sup>th</sup> annual <a href="http://illusionoftheyear.com/">Best Illusion of the Year Contest</a>!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Online voters around the world chose the best illusions of the year from Wednesday, June 29<sup>th</sup> 4pm EDT to Thursday, June 30<sup>th</sup> 4PM EDT. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b>First Place</b> and an award of $3,000 USD went to “<a href="http://illusionoftheyear.com/2016/06/motion-integration-unleashed-new-tricks-for-an-old-dog/">Motion Integration Unleashed: New Tricks for an Old Dog</a>”, a motion perception illusion by <b><a href="http://illusionoftheyear.com/2016/06/motion-integration-unleashed-new-tricks-for-an-old-dog/"><span style='color:windowtext;text-decoration:none'>Mathew T. Harrison and Gideon P. Caplovitz </span></a>from the University of Reno, Nevada, USA</b>.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><b>Second Place</b> and an award of $2,000 USD went to “<a href="http://illusionoftheyear.com/2016/06/ambiguous-cylinder-illusion/">Ambiguous Cylinder Illusion</a>” a perspective illusion by <b>Kokichi Sugihara from Meiji University, Japan.<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal style='background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><b>Third Place</b> and an award of $1,000 USD went to “<a href="http://illusionoftheyear.com/2016/06/silhouette-zoetrope/">Silhouette Zoetrope</a>” a motion illusion by <b><a href="http://illusionoftheyear.com/2016/06/silhouette-zoetrope/"><span style='color:windowtext;text-decoration:none'>Christine Veras</span></a> from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore</b>.<span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Georgia",serif;color:#323232'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p><p class=MsoNormal>Enjoy the winning illusions and all <u><span style='color:#0563C1'><a href="http://illusionoftheyear.com/cat/top-10-finalists/2016/">Top 10 Finalists</a></span></u> at <a href="http://illusionoftheyear.com">http://illusionoftheyear.com</a> <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://illusionoftheyear.com/about-the-contest/submission-instructions/">Illusion submissions</a> are now accepted for the 12<sup>th</sup> edition of the Best Illusion of the Year Contest, to be held in 2017.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'>On behalf of the Executive Board of the Neural Correlate Society:<br>Jose-Manuel Alonso, Stephen Macknik, Susana Martinez-Conde, Luis Martinez, Xoana Troncoso, Peter Tse<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='line-height:150%'>The Neural Correlate Society is a tax-exempt 501(c)3 non-profit organization, whose mission is to promote the public awareness of neuroscience research. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>--------------------------------------<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Susana Martinez-Conde, PhD<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Professor of Ophthalmology, Neurology, and Physiology & Pharmacology<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Empire Innovator Scholar<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Director, Laboratory of Integrative Neuroscience<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>State University of New York (SUNY)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Downstate Medical Center<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>450 Clarkson Ave, Brooklyn NY 11203, USA<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Email: </span><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><a href="mailto:smart@neuralcorrelate.com"><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:blue'>smart@neuralcorrelate.com</span></a></span><span style='color:#1F497D'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='color:#1F497D'>Phone: +1 718-270-4520<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><a href="http://smc.neuralcorrelate.com/"><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:blue'>http://smc.neuralcorrelate.com</span></a></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>