If Matplotlib contributes to a project that leads to a scientific publication, please acknowledge this fact by citing Hunter et al (2007) using this ready-made BibTeX entry:
@Article{Hunter:2007,
Author = {Hunter, J. D.},
Title = {Matplotlib: A 2D graphics environment},
Journal = {Computing In Science \& Engineering},
Volume = {9},
Number = {3},
Pages = {90--95},
abstract = {Matplotlib is a 2D graphics package used for Python
for application development, interactive scripting, and
publication-quality image generation across user
interfaces and operating systems.},
publisher = {IEEE COMPUTER SOC},
doi = {10.1109/MCSE.2007.55},
year = 2007
}