SNSF Scientific Image Competition

The jury has awarded four first prizes and sizteen distinctions out of the 430 submitted entries.

Category 1 – Object of study

Exploring the hair salon space, by Alain Amstutz

Postdoc, University of Basel

Accessing sexual and reproductive care at health facilities can be a challenge for many young women in Lesotho, a small country in southern Africa. Our research team is investigating the potential of hair salons as complementary spaces for delivering these essential services. We recently conducted a nationwide survey and in-depth interviews to gather insights from both hairdressers and clients. The image captures one of the participating hair salons, viewed through a blue wire mesh fence. The salon is modestly furnished: a worn couch in the corner, a “no smoking” sign, a handwritten price list, and hair extension products displayed on the wall.

I find this image particularly compelling because it perfectly depicts our object of study – the salon space itself. The blue fence in the foreground adds a framing effect, inviting the viewer to explore a setting that, while minimal and functional, also conveys a sense of trust, warmth and laughter.

Co-authors: Mamaswatsi Kopeka (University of Washington, USA) and Meri Hyöky (The HUB Morija, Lesotho).

Jury’s commentary │ This powerful photograph stands out by telling only part of a story that is both mundane and intimate. The framing created by the broken fence and the controlled use of blurring reveal as much as they hide, contrasting a joyful scene with a serious topic. It transparently conveys the presence of the photographer, their artistic intention as well as a slightly voyeuristic stance.

Category 2 – Women and men of science

Pass the bucket, by Guido Schreurs

Professor, University of Bern

The image shows a group of Swiss and Malagasy scientists excavating at the archaeological site of Teniky in southern Madagascar. As the excavations expanded, heaps of sand had to be removed, and around twenty people lined up to pass the buckets filled with sand. It was a real team effort carried out in a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere.

We are studying an enigmatic site with extensive rock-cut architecture. We tentatively interpret the site as having been settled a thousand years ago by a group of Zoroastrians originating from Iran, and we will return to the site in 2025 for further work. I like how the team forms a human chain, working together in good spirits to pass the bucket.

Jury’s commentary │ The classical backlighting highlights the group over the individuals, while the framing centres on the main message of the picture: the bucket, which serves as the link between all the team members. The photographer found a clever way to express the idea that science is a collaborative effort – and to clearly present the team’s activity and surroundings.

Category 3 – Locations and instruments

Vanishing self-portrait, by Gaétan Raynaud

PhD student, EPFL

Wind tunnel experiments involve long hours of sitting alone in a dark and noisy environment. Behind heavy curtains to block out light, my work is to ensure that everything goes according to plan. A large fan generates continuous gusts, causing our sample – a flag – to flap rapidly and unpredictably. We collect data to better understand phenomena such as the motion of leaves, blade flutter vibrations and the mechanisms of snoring.

Between experiments, I switch on the light, cut samples and install a new flag at the outlet of the wind tunnel. The long-exposure photograph has captured this activity, serving as a reminder of the researchers behind each experiment. While the scientific results may be remembered in a few years, the human aspect of this work will fade and vanish like the ghost in this self-portrait.

Jury’s commentary │This iconic presentation of a scientific experiment unveils, on second look, another story: that of the invisible solitary researcher who only leaves ghostly, fluid traces captured by the long exposure. An atmospheric, slightly unsettling but poignant rendering of daily lab work.

Category 4 – Video loops

• To the video

Electromechanical nanosystem, by Peter Lendway

PhD student, Empa

The video shows the tiny movements of a nanoelectromechanical system. It oscillates back and forth with a maximum displacement of 200 nanometres (500 times smaller than the width of a human hair), and with a precision of under one nanometre. As movement on such a scale cannot be seen with the naked eye or a conventional light microscope, we use a scanning electron microscope, where images are created by scanning a focused beam of electrons across a sample to reveal topographical details.

We fabricate such systems to study new material properties and quantum phenomena by applying strain to low-dimensional materials and even single molecules.

Jury’s commentary │ The video presents a puzzling and unexpected peek into an alien and artificial world, evoking brutalist architecture at a microscopic scale and the pixelated, jerky motions of early digital creations.

• Jury distinctions

The competition is held annually. An international jury will meet at the beginning of the year and award a CHF 1,000 prize in each category for the winning entry, as well as CHF 250 for each distinction. The award-winning works are announced at the end of April, displayed in an exhibition at the Biel/Bienne Festival of Photography and made available to the public and the media, as well as to scientific institutions.

The competition has multiple aims: to highlight the growing role of images in scientific research, to reveal how scientific work is conducted and to give a face to the researchers conducting it. The competition also aims to encourage the media to use more images in their science coverage and make them accessible to the public through exhibitions.

We encourage researchers to pick up their camera and document the – often unusual – environment in which they work, and to give their colleagues a face.

Submission form

Jury 2025

The jury includes international experts in the fields of photography, museums, media and research from around the world.

Chair
Tanja Gesell, biologist and artist, University of Vienna (Austria)

Members
Emanuela Ascoli, Director of Photography and Exhibitions, National Geographic France
Lizzy Brown, Head of Photography, Nature (UK)
Patrick Gyger, director of Plateforme 10 (Switzerland)
Andri Pol, photographer (Switerzland)
Tess de Ruiter, art-science curator, Rotterdam (Netherlands) 

Award ceremony, exhibition and online galleries

The award ceremony will take place in May 2025 during the Biel/Bienne Festival of Photography, where a selection of the works will be exhibited.

The images are presented at other exhibitions as well as online:

• Flickr galleries
• #SwissScienceImage on Instagram

Participation requirements

All scientists working at a research institution in Switzerland are eligible to participate. The works must have been produced less than 12 months before the deadline for submitting entries.

SNSF Scientific Image Competition – Terms and conditions (PDF)

Submission

Researchers who wish to take part in the competition must fill in the online form.

Submission form

Categories of the competition

Each participant may submit from 1 to 5 entries, in one or more of the following categories:

1) Object of study (image)

From the microcosm to the macrocosm, images of the research object captured by scientists using a camera or generated by a computer.

2) Women and men of science (photographs)

Photographs of research in practice, presented by and featuring those conducting it.

3) Locations and instruments

Photographs of the surroundings in which scientists take measurements, generate data and make discoveries, and of the instruments they use while doing so.

4) Video loop

Chronophotography, video or animated gif, documenting some aspects of categories 1 to 3.

Technical details

Photography

Digital image file obtained from a camera. Format: JPEG or TIFF. Maximum size: 100 MB. Minimum resolution: 2000 x 3000 pixels (16.9 x 25.4 cm to 300 dpi). Digital touching up permitted.

Image

Digital image file taken from a camera or computer-generated from data obtained through observation or computer simulation (excluding explanatory infographics). Others: see "Photographs", above.

Video

Digital video file taken from a camera or computer-generated from data obtained through observation or computer simulation (excluding explanatory infographics). Formats: GIF, AVI, MP4 (edited in a loop). Maximum size: 300 MB. Duration: from 3 to 15 seconds. Minimum resolution: 480 x 720 pixels (DVD resolution). Digital touching up permitted.

Terms of use

The participants retain their copyright. They authorise the publication of the submitted images under a CC-BY-NC-ND licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/): unaltered images can be used freely for non-commercial purposes as long as they are credited as the creator of the image.

Online gallery

All of the images are presented in our online gallery. Follow the images from the competition on Instagram @swissnationalsciencefoundation and on X using the hashtag #SwissScienceImage.

In March 2021, the public voted for its favourites from among 50 photographs and 15 videos. The preselection had been made in February 2021 by 20 photography students of Arts College Bern/Biel.