The Ten Hundred and One Word Challenge invited the 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) to represent their science in images, cartoons, photos, words and original paintings, but any descriptions or words could only use the 1000 most commonly used words in the English language, with the addition of one word important to each of the EFRCs and the mission of DOE: energy.

The Challenge was inspired by Up Goer Five, a comic by xkcd​.com where the cartoonist describes the complicated blueprint of the Saturn V rocket using only the 1000 most commonly used words in the English language.

Thirty-one teams took up the challenge, and submitted a diverse array of highly creative and visually captivating entries that told the story of the innovative, ground-breaking science performed in the EFRCs. A team from CEES won the ​“Best Science Lesson” award for its entry ​“Not Your Normal Power Box.”