Images of specimens entered into the 2002 Small World contest included a rat brain, marine diatoms, deer skin, cells in culture, sperm cells, a computer chip, polymers, algae, several plants, and a variety of chemical crystals. Judges for the 28th annual contest were Douglas B. Murphy (Johns Hopkins University), Jennifer Waters Shuler (Harvard University), Elizabeth Carr (Simmons College), Maisie Todd (Discover Magazine), and Michael W. Davidson (Florida State University).

2002 Contest Prizewinners

  • First Prize

    1st Prize - Dr. Thomas J. Deerinck

    National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research - University of California - San Diego - La Jolla, California, USA
    Specimen: Sagittal section of rat cerebellum (40x)
    Technique: Fluorescence and Confocal

  • Second Prize

    2nd Prize - Zdenka Jenikova

    Czech Technical University - Prague, Czech Republic
    Specimen: Deformation of a polyethylene folio (40x)
    Technique: Polarized Light

  • Third Prize

    3rd Prize - Wim van Egmond

    Van Egmond Photography - Rotterdam, The Netherlands
    Specimen: Licmophora flabellata (marine diatom) (160x)
    Technique: Phase Contrast

  • Fourth Prize

    4th Prize - Jerrod J. Salisbury

    Molecular Probes, Inc. - Eugene, Oregon, USA
    Specimen: Indian Muntjac (deer) skin fibroblast (600x)
    Technique: Fluorescence

  • Fifth Prize

    5th Prize - Dr. Torsten Wittmann

    Department of Cell Biology - Scripps Research Institute - La Jolla, California, USA
    Specimen: Potorous tridactylus (long-nosed potoroo) kidney epithelial cell (760x)
    Technique: Differential Interference Contrast and Fluorescence

  • Sixth Prize

    6th Prize - Wim van Egmond

    Van Egmond Photography - Rotterdam, The Netherlands
    Specimen: Tunicate larvae within eggs (100x)
    Technique: Differential Interference Contrast

  • Seventh Prize

    7th Prize - Loes Modderman

    Science Art - Nijmegen, The Netherlands
    Specimen: Heated solution of Tetenal (a photochemical) and water (40x)
    Technique: Polarized Light

  • Eighth Prize

    8th Prize - Aaron Messing

    The Virginia Company, Inc. - West Orange, New Jersey, USA
    Specimen: Embryo seeds of Capsella bursa-pastoris within fruit capsule (25x)
    Technique: Polarized Light

  • Ninth Prize

    9th Prize - Dani M. Hill

    Molecular Probes, Inc. - Eugene, Oregon, USA
    Specimen: Indian Muntjac (deer) skin fibroblast (100x)
    Technique: Fluorescence

  • Tenth Prize

    10th Prize - Dr. Nuria Carrillo-Carrasco

    The Anton Van Leeuwenhoek Society - For Life & Exact Sciences - Mexico City, Mexico
    Specimen: Vitis rotundifolia (muscadine grape) stalk (40x)
    Technique: Differential Interference Contrast

  • Eleventh Prize

    11th Prize - Albert Tousson

    Department of Cell Biology - University of Alabama at Birmingham - Birmingham, Alabama, USA
    Specimen: Isolated human sperm cells (1500x)
    Technique: Fluorescence

  • Twelfth Prize

    12th Prize - Garry G. Fry

    Central Science Laboratory - York, UK
    Specimen: Conjugation in Spirogyra (200x)
    Technique: Brightfield

  • Thirteenth Prize

    13th Prize - Dr. Jeff Axelrod

    Department of Pathology - Stanford University School of Medicine - Stanford, California, USA
    Specimen: Mutated Drosophila wing (600x)
    Technique: Fluorescence and Confocal

  • Fourteenth Prize

    14th Prize - Jhodie R. Duncan

    Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology - University of Melbourne - Melbourne, Australia
    Specimen: Sheep placenta stained with India ink (5x)
    Technique: Polarized Light

  • Fifteenth Prize

    15th Prize -Dr. Taijin Lu

    Gemological Institute of America - Carlsbad, California, USA
    Specimen: Synthetic topaz crystal surface (50x)
    Technique: Darkfield

  • Sixteenth Prize

    16th Prize - Paul D. Andrews

    Division of Gene Regulation and Expression - University of Dundee - Dundee, UK
    Specimen: HeLa (cancer) cells (100x)
    Technique: Fluorescence and Deconvolution

  • Seventeenth Prize

    17th Prize - Irene Y. Tsai

    University of Massachusetts – Amherst - Sunderland, Massachusetts, USA
    Specimen: Polymer thin film after electric field and reactive ion etching (200x)
    Technique: Differential Interference Contrast

  • Eighteenth Prize

    18th Prize - Petra Lutze

    Dresden University of Technology - Dresden, Germany
    Specimen: Section of a coin (63x)
    Technique: Polarized Light

  • Nineteenth Prize

    19th Prize - Ron Oldfield

    Department of Biology - Macquarie University - Sydney, Australia
    Specimen: Microchip (64x)
    Technique: Rheinberg Illumination

  • Twentieth Prize

    20th Prize - Alan Opsahl

    Pharmacia Corporation - Skokie, Illinois, USA
    Specimen: Mouse tongue (squamous epithelium) (170x)
    Technique: Darkfield

Honorable Mentions

  • Honorable Mention - Lars Bech

    Naarden, The Netherlands
    Specimen: Barbital, betadine, fenacetine and sulfuric acid (40x)
    Technique: Polarized Light

  • Honorable Mention - Lars Bech

    Naardan, The Netherlands
    Specimen: Herceptin® (anti-cancer drug) (55x)
    Technique: Polarized Light

  • Honorable Mention - Dr. Tapan K. Bhattacharyya

    Chicago, Illinois, USA
    Specimen: Ear cartilage fibers (400x)
    Technique: Brightfield

  • Honorable Mention - Elizabeth A. Elliott

    Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
    Specimen: Human breast carcinoma cells (600x)
    Technique: Fluorescence

  • Honorable Mention - Zdenka Jenikova

    Prague, Czech Republic
    Specimen: Floppy disk surface (120x)
    Technique: Reflected Differential Interference Contrast

  • Honorable Mention - Dr. Mario E. Lacouture

    Chicago, Illinois, USA
    Specimen: Human osteosarcoma cells (800x)
    Technique: Fluorescence

  • Honorable Mention - Dr. David McDonald

    Chicago, Illinois, USA
    Specimen: Fibroblast cells (100x)
    Technique: Fluorescence

  • Honorable Mention - Mikael Niku

    Helsinki, Finland
    Specimen: Cat tongue (31x)
    Technique: Fluorescence

  • Honorable Mention - Dr. Greg W. Rouse

    Adelaide, Australia
    Specimen: Scaleworm (30x)
    Technique: Darkfield

  • Honorable Mention - Dr. Subhabrata Sanyal

    Tucson, Arizona, USA
    Specimen: Drosophila larval hemisegment (20x)
    Technique: Fluorescence

  • Honorable Mention - Ron Sturm

    Skokie, Illinois, USA
    Specimen: Fossil fusulinids in limestone (10x)
    Technique: Brightfield

  • Honorable Mention - Patrick D. Taulman

    Birmingham, Alabama, USA
    Specimen: Mouse epididymis (150x)
    Technique: Fluorescence

  • Honorable Mention - Patrick D. Taulman

    Birmingham, Alabama, USA
    Specimen: Mouse epididymis (150x)
    Technique: Fluorescence

  • Honorable Mention - Jakob Zbaeren

    Bern, Switzerland
    Specimen: Pandanus (screw pine) root (25x)
    Technique: Fluorescence

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