The competition celebrates the work of our fantastic staff and students through imagery and stories that invite us into the world of natural sciences.

Congratulations to our winners for 2025!

Congratulations to our winners and all our shortlisted entrants. Two prizes were awarded by our panel of judges and one prize as a result of a vote by Imperial staff and students.

  • Judges’ Choice awards:
    • PhD student category (£200): Anna Curran from the Department of Mathematics
    • Research staff category (£200): Dr Adriana Ford from the Department of Life Sciences
  • People’s Choice award:

You can view a slideshow of the winners and all shortlisted images below.

Alternatively, you can view each of the shortlisted images and their associated captions in this PDF: FoNS Research Image Competition 2025

FoNS Research Image Competition 2025

WINNER PhD student category

Anna Curran - Liquid Gold

FoNS Research Image Competition 2025

WINNER research staff category

Dr Adriana Ford - Purposeful Flames

FoNS Research Image Competition 2025

WINNER people's choice award

Chandra Sekhar Sale - The nano-micro Shard

FoNS Research Image Competition 2025

Abha Joglekar - Weaving circularity

FoNS Research Image Competition 2025

Aileen Cooney - Lipid assemblies resemble microscopic moons

FoNS Research Image Competition 2025

Alex Kingston - Brain in a Dish: Cerebral Organoid Rosette

FoNS Research Image Competition 2025

Arnad Majumdar - Green bubbles

FoNS Research Image Competition 2025

Barry Liu - Decoding Influenza C Virus

FoNS Research Image Competition 2025

Catalina Estrada Montes - One angry bird

FoNS Research Image Competition 2025

Claudia Contini - Synthetic Cell Pop Art

FoNS Research Image Competition 2025

Esme Fan - Bone Marrow's Beating Heart

FoNS Research Image Competition 2025

Floriane Tissot - Whispers of the Bone Marrow

FoNS Research Image Competition 2025

Harsh Rathee - Quantum Coolness

FoNS Research Image Competition 2025

Katarina Piponi - Curiosity Unites Us

FoNS Research Image Competition 2025

Matthew Clark - Tracing Trees

FoNS Research Image Competition 2025

Pei-Shi Yen - Chamber of Secrets

Selection criteria

The panel of judges will sift submissions against eligibility criteria (see below) and the following themes:

  • Technical skill: What are the technical qualities of the image, including clarity, lighting and framing?
  • Impact: Does the image captured the imagination of the viewer? Is it likely to inspire?
  • Communication: Is the narrative accessible to the layperson and does it describe the image and its message accurately? Does it complement the image and enhance its impact?

Eligibility criteria

Applicant requirements

To apply, you must be a PhD student or research staff currently registered in the Faculty of Natural Sciences (Departments of Chemistry, Physics, Life Sciences, Mathematics and Centre for Environmental Policy). Entrants are limited to one submission.

Image requirements

The submitted image may be portrait or landscape (shortlisted images will be printed in A2). You may also submit a second version of the same image with labels and/or annotations. This may allow the audience to better understand the structure or components of your image. Note that the judges will not view or score any labelled images.

Submit your entries as JPEG/JPG files, maximum 100Mb in size. The shortlisted entries will be print in A2 (4961 x 7016 pixels) at 300dpi.

Please include your name in the title of the file.

Images may be black and white or in colour, taken with any kind of camera. Minor adjustments are allowed, such as minor changes in cropping, sharpening, contrast, etc. Significantly altered or artistically enhanced photos are not accepted. The judges may request the original file/RAW/negative of your photo to verify this.

Images taken by someone other than the applicant are not allowed.

Image caption requirements
  • Your image title should ideally be two to five words with a strict maximum of 10 words.
  • Your accompanying narrative/caption should ideally be 80-100 words with a strict maximum of 110 words.
  • Your image narrative must give a description of your image and place it in the context of your research.
  • Your narrative must be accessible to a non-specialist audience. Do not use acronyms.
Ethics requirements
  • You must not do anything to injure or distress an animal or damage its habitat in an attempt to secure an image.
  • You must ensure that the personal safety of everyone involved is appropriately handled. Avoid taking unnecessary risks that can result in dangerous situations.
  • You are responsible for ensuring full compliance with any applicable national or international legislation.
  • Respect the work of other photographers and do not plagiarize.
  • If the panel suspects that an entry has been achieved through cruel or unethical practices, the entry will be disqualified.
Privacy Notice

This Privacy Notice (Notice) explains how the Faculty of Natural Sciences (FoNS, we, our, us) processes your personal data when you apply for our Research Image Competition (formerly known as the PhD Student Photo Competition), and your rights in relation to the personal data we hold.

Our Privacy Notice is available here to download: Privacy Notice for Students and Staff [PDF]

Terms and conditions

It is the responsibility of participants to ensure that the images they are submitting are their own work, that they own the copyright for them and that they do not infringe on the copyright or other rights of any third party.

It is the responsibility of participants to ensure that the images do not infringe on any laws. Copyright for the submitted images remains with their authors. However, by entering the competition, participants are granting the Faculty of Natural Sciences irrevocable, perpetual permission for non-commercial use of the images online and in print, in any promotional materials related to the competition, and in an exhibition on campus.

If you have any questions, please contact Dr Ester Buchaca-Domingo (e.buchaca-domingo@imperial.ac.uk).