Ten Years of Spectacular Scientific Images

An unusual encounter in the depths of a Swiss lake, a collage from the daily research routine, or a close-up of a hailstone telling the story of its formation in the clouds: The international jury of the SNF Scientific Image Competition 2026 has awarded four first prizes and sixteen commendations among the 314 submitted works.

The award-winning images and videos will be exhibited from 9 to 31 May 2026 at the Biel/Bienne Festival of Photography. "Thanks to our collaboration with the Swiss National Science Foundation, science can be discovered from an unusual perspective," says Sarah Zürcher, director of the festival since 2025. "Even though it is not art creation in the strict sense, these images open up a new perspective on how knowledge is created and transmitted."

The four First Prizes

With her photograph of a colleague wearing a bird mask, anthropologist Claire Galloni d'Istria from the University of Geneva wins the "Research Object" category. "The photograph conveys my thoughts on the coexistence of humans and animals," explains the researcher. "For me, the photo not only serves to illustrate: it evokes other forms of consciousness." The jury is convinced by the "dramatic staging and the radical image section, emphasizing a slightly disturbing darkness."

The first prize in the "Women and Men of Science" category goes to Mirjam Widmer, a student at the Zentrum Bildung, for her portrait of a cave explorer descending through a waterfall. For her, the photo shows "that science does not occur only in the lab. Gaining insight requires courage and is often associated with physical effort." The jury praises the "technically impressive shot, masterfully uniting exposure and composition and transporting us to an almost inaccessible world."

Jayant Abhir, doctoral student at ETH Zurich, wins the "Places and Tools" category. His photo shows the moon through the supporting structure of a telescope located on La Palma at an altitude of 2200 meters. "There exists a unique atmosphere which I want to convey through photography," the doctoral student shares. For the jury, this work is a "very beautiful composition that contrasts mechanics and nature, proximity and distance, as well as abstraction and figuration."

In the "Videos" category, Inés Segovia Campos from the University of Geneva wins. Filmed under the microscope, her video documents the collective movement of phytoplankton. "It shows how these single-celled algae adapt to their environment and fight for their place," explains the researcher. The jury highlights the "classic, precise recording with intense colours" that "reveals to us a microscopic world."

Sixteen works received a commendation: from the delicate shimmer of moss, glittering vitamin B crystals, or blood-red balsawood to the encounter between a biologist and an eagle on a ledge in Greenland.

10 Years of Scientific Images

The SNF Scientific Image Competition was launched in 2017 and unites over 3800 images: They document the work of researchers active in all disciplines and research institutions in the country. The images are available in an online gallery and can be used for non-commercial purposes and by the media.

"For ten years, the competition has provided a realistic insight into the work of researchers in our country," says Torsten Schwede, president of the Swiss National Science Foundation's Research Council. "The images testify to the dedication and creativity of young scientists who advance our knowledge and initiate a valuable dialogue with society."

The Jury 2026

President of the jury is Patrick Gyger, director of the art district Plateforme 10 in Lausanne.

The jury members are:
- Jessica Hallett, Media Editor of the journal Nature (England)
- Andri Pol, photographer (Switzerland)
- Tess de Ruiter, curator of art-science projects, Rotterdam (Netherlands)
- Aurélie Saliba, Manager Crowdsourcing at Adobe Stock (Germany).

The text of this press release and further information are available on the Swiss National Science Foundation's website.

Press Contact:
Corinne Ammann
Science Communication
Swiss National Science Foundation
Wildhainweg 3
3001 Bern
Tel.: +41 31 308 24 81
E-Mail: corinne.ammann@snf.ch

Editor's note: Image rights belong to the respective publisher. Image rights: Schweizerischer Nationalfonds