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).

• First Prize
  Dr. Thomas J. Deerinck
  National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research
  University of California - San Diego
  La Jolla, California, USA
  Sagittal section of rat cerebellum (40x)
  Fluorescence and Confocal

• Second Prize
  Zdenka Jenikova
  Czech Technical University
  Prague, Czech Republic
  Deformation of a polyethylene folio (40x)
  Polarized Light

• Third Prize
  Wim van Egmond
  Van Egmond Photography
  Rotterdam, The Netherlands
  Licmophora flabellata (marine diatom) (160x)
  Phase Contrast

• Fourth Prize
  Jerrod J. Salisbury
  Molecular Probes, Inc.
  Eugene, Oregon, USA
  Indian Muntjac (deer) skin fibroblast (600x)
  Fluorescence

• Fifth Prize
  Dr. Torsten Wittmann
  Department of Cell Biology
  Scripps Research Institute
  La Jolla, California, USA
  Potorous tridactylus (long-nosed potoroo) kidney epithelial cell (760x)
  Differential Interference Contrast and Fluorescence

• Sixth Prize
  Wim van Egmond
  Van Egmond Photography
  Rotterdam, The Netherlands
  Tunicate larvae within eggs (100x)
  Differential Interference Contrast

• Seventh Prize
  Loes Modderman
  Science Art
  Nijmegen, The Netherlands
  Heated solution of Tetenal (a photochemical) and water (40x)
  Polarized Light

• Eighth Prize
  Aaron Messing
  The Virginia Company, Inc.
  West Orange, New Jersey, USA
  Embryo seeds of Capsella bursa-pastoris within fruit capsule (25x)
  Polarized Light

• Ninth Prize
  Dani M. Hill
  Molecular Probes, Inc.
  Eugene, Oregon, USA
  Indian Muntjac (deer) skin fibroblast (100x)
  Fluorescence

• Tenth Prize
  Dr. Nuria Carrillo-Carrasco
  The Anton Van Leeuwenhoek Society
  For Life & Exact Sciences
  Mexico City, Mexico
  Vitis rotundifolia (muscadine grape) stalk (40x)
  Differential Interference Contrast

• Eleventh Prize
  Albert Tousson
  Department of Cell Biology
  University of Alabama at Birmingham
  Birmingham, Alabama, USA
  Isolated human sperm cells (1500x)
  Fluorescence

• Twelfth Prize
  Garry G. Fry
  Central Science Laboratory
  York, UK
  Conjugation in Spirogyra (200x)
  Brightfield

• Thirteenth Prize
  Dr. Jeff Axelrod
  Department of Pathology
  Stanford University School of Medicine
  Stanford, California, USA
  Mutated Drosophila wing (600x)
  Fluorescence and Confocal

• Fourteenth Prize
  Jhodie R. Duncan
  Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology
  University of Melbourne
  Melbourne, Australia
  Sheep placenta stained with India ink (5x)
  Polarized Light

• Fifteenth Prize
  Dr. Taijin Lu
  Gemological Institute of America
  Carlsbad, California, USA
  Synthetic topaz crystal surface (50x)
  Darkfield

• Sixteenth Prize
  Paul D. Andrews
  Division of Gene Regulation and Expression
  University of Dundee
  Dundee, UK
  HeLa (cancer) cells (100x)
  Fluorescence and Deconvolution

• Seventeenth Prize
  Irene Y. Tsai
  University of Massachusetts – Amherst
  Sunderland, Massachusetts, USA
  Polymer thin film after electric field and reactive ion etching (200x)
  Differential Interference Contrast

• Eighteenth Prize
  Petra Lutze
  Dresden University of Technology
  Dresden, Germany
  Section of a coin (63x)
  Polarized Light

• Nineteenth Prize
  Ron Oldfield
  Department of Biology
  Macquarie University
  Sydney, Australia
  Microchip (64x)
  Rheinberg Illumination

• Twentieth Prize
  Alan Opsahl
  Pharmacia Corporation
  Skokie, Illinois, USA
  Mouse tongue (squamous epithelium) (170x)
  Darkfield

Honorable Mentions

• Honorable Mention
  Lars Bech
  Naarden, The Netherlands
  Barbital, betadine, fenacetine and sulfuric acid (40x)
  Polarized Light

• Honorable Mention
  Lars Bech
  Naardan, The Netherlands
  Herceptin® (anti-cancer drug) (55x)
  Polarized Light

• Honorable Mention
  Dr. Tapan K. Bhattacharyya
  Chicago, Illinois, USA
  Ear cartilage fibers (400x)
  Brightfield

• Honorable Mention
  Elizabeth A. Elliott
  Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
  Human breast carcinoma cells (600x)
  Fluorescence

• Honorable Mention
  Zdenka Jenikova
  Prague, Czech Republic
  Floppy disk surface (120x)
  Reflected Differential Interference Contrast

• Honorable Mention
  Dr. Mario E. Lacouture
  Chicago, Illinois, USA
  Human osteosarcoma cells (800x)
  Fluorescence

• Honorable Mention
  Dr. David McDonald
  Chicago, Illinois, USA
  Fibroblast cells (100x)
  Fluorescence

• Honorable Mention
  Mikael Niku
  Helsinki, Finland
  Cat tongue (31x)
  Fluorescence

• Honorable Mention
  Dr. Greg W. Rouse
  Adelaide, Australia
  Scaleworm (30x)
  Darkfield

• Honorable Mention
  Dr. Subhabrata Sanyal
  Tucson, Arizona, USA
  Drosophila larval hemisegment (20x)
  Fluorescence

• Honorable Mention
  Ron Sturm
  Skokie, Illinois, USA
  Fossil fusulinids in limestone (10x)
  Brightfield

• Honorable Mention
  Patrick D. Taulman
  Birmingham, Alabama, USA
  Mouse epididymis (150x)
  Fluorescence

• Honorable Mention
  Patrick D. Taulman
  Birmingham, Alabama, USA
  Mouse epididymis (150x)
  Fluorescence

• Honorable Mention
  Jakob Zbaeren
  Bern, Switzerland
  Pandanus (screw pine) root (25x)
  Fluorescence

The Nikon Small World Competition is open to anyone with an interest in photography through the microscope. Truly international in scope, entries have been received from the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Winners have included both professionals and hobbyists.

The subject matter for this year's contest is unrestricted and any type of light microscopy technique is acceptable, including phase contrast, polarized light, fluorescence, interference contrast, darkfield, confocal, deconvolution, and mixed techniques. Entries submitted to Nikon are then judged by an independent panel of experts who are recognized authorities in the area of photomicrography and photography. These entries are judged on the basis of originality, informational content, technical proficiency and visual impact.

For the first time, entries may be submitted either on film (in 35 millimeter transparency format) or uploaded digitally through your web browser. The links below provide options for entering the contest.

Digital Entries - Entrants may enter Nikon's Small World Competition by uploading digital images directly to our servers. Before you begin, read the Contest Rules and prepare your images for uploading according to the instructions. You may also download a 2008 Competition Entry Form in portable document format for submission of entries by mail.

Prize List - Winners will receive one of 20 prizes, sorted according to rank in the competition. First place is a vacation trip valued at $5000 (US) or the equivalent amount of photographic, scientific, or industrial equipment and accessories at their suggested retail selling prices in the USA. Honorable mention winners will receive an 16 x 20-inch print of their entries.