Images of specimens entered into the 2004 Small World contest included neurons, Quantum Dot crystals, plant tissues and fibers, cells in culture, recrystallized chemicals, animal tissue sections, a tapeworm, and several microscopic invertebrates. Judges for the 30th annual contest were Michael Peres (Rochester Institute of Technology), Bonnie Stutski (Smithsonian Magazine), Ellis Rubenstein (New York Academy of Sciences), Ted Salmon (University of North Carolina), and Michael W. Davidson (Florida State University).

2004 Contest Prize Winners

  • First Prize

    1st Prize - Seth A. Coe-Sullivan

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
    Specimen: Quantum dot nanocrystals deposited on a silicon substrate (200x)
    Technique: Polarized reflected light

  • Second Prize

    2nd Prize - Dr. Shirley A. Owens

    Center for Advanced Microscopy - Michigan State University – East Lansing, Michigan, USA
    Specimen: Tradescantia virginiana (spiderwort flower) anther and immature pollen
    Technique: Confocal (laser)

  • Third Prize

    3rd Prize - Dr. Torsten Wittmann

    The Scripps Research Institute - La Jolla, California, USA
    Specimen: Differentiating neuronal cells (actin, microtubules and DNA) (1000x)
    Technique: Fluorescence

  • Fourth Prize

    4th Prize - Charles J. Kazilek

    The Paper Project / W.M. Keck Bioimaging Laboratory - Arizona State University - Tempe, Arizona, USA
    Specimen: Australian plant fibers (Juncus sp.) from mold-made paper (100x)
    Technique: Confocal (3-laser)

  • Fifth Prize

    5th Prize - Francois Paquet-Durand

    Institute of Physiology and Cell Biology - Hannover School of Veterinary Medicine - Hannover, Germany
    Specimen: Differentiated human NT-2 neuronal cells, 6 weeks old (40x)
    Technique: Confocal (laser)

  • Sixth Prize

    6th Prize - Charles B. Krebs

    Charles Krebs Photography - Issaquah, Washington, USA
    Specimen: Thorax, head and eye section of Chrysochroa fulminans (a metallic beetle) (6.25x)
    Technique: Reflected light

  • Seventh Prize

    7th Prize - Tora Bardal

    Department of Biology - Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) - Trondheim, Norway
    Specimen: Turbot larvae, 25 days old (6x)
    Technique: Brightfield

  • Eighth Prize

    8th Prize - Alan Opsahl

    Pfizer - Groton, Connecticut, USA
    Specimen: Rat epididymis (part of the male reproductive system) (100x)
    Technique: Brightfield

  • Ninth Prize

    9th Prize - Edy Kieser

    Ennenda, Switzerland
    Specimen: Crystallized acetaminophen and ascorbic acid (40x)
    Technique: Brightfield

  • Tenth Prize

    10th Prize - Wim van Egmond

    Micropolitan Museum - Rotterdam, The Netherlands
    Specimen: Brittle Star Larva, living specimen (100x)
    Technique: Differential interference contrast

  • Eleventh Prize

    11th Prize - Edy Kieser

    Ennenda, Switzerland
    Specimen: Crystallized glycine, tartaric acid and resorcinol (40x)
    Technique: Polarized light

  • Twelfth Prize

    12th Prize - Christian Gautier

    BIOS/PHONE Photo Agency - Paris, France
    Specimen: Scolex (head) of Cysticercus psiformis tapeworm) (100x))
    Technique: Polarized light

  • Thirteenth Prize

    13th Prize - Dr. Tsutomu Seimiya

    Department of Chemistry - Tokyo Metropolitan University - Tokyo, Japan
    Specimen: Interference image of a microscopic flow-pattern in draining soap film (15x)
    Technique: Simple microscope

  • Fourteenth Prize

    14th Prize - Robert Markus

    Biological Research Center / Institute of Genetics - Hungarian Academy of Sciences - Szeged, Hungary
    Specimen: Taraxacum sp. (dandelion) stigma with pollen (100x)
    Technique: Fluorescence

  • Fifteenth Prize

    15th Prize - Wim van Egmond

    Micropolitan Museum - Rotterdam, The Netherlands
    Specimen: Micrasterias rotata (a desmid) undergoing cell division (200x)
    Technique: Darkfield

  • Sixteenth Prize

    16th Prize - Ruben M. Sandoval

    Indiana Center for Biological Microscopy - Indiana University School of Medicine - Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
    Specimen: Superficial kidney glomerulus of a living Munic Wistar rat (60x)
    Technique: Confocal (2-Photon)

  • Seventeenth Prize

    17th Prize - Dr. Amy M. Brock

    Children's Hospital - Boston, Massachusetts, USA
    Specimen: Human microvascular endothelial cell (60x)
    Technique: Fluorescence

  • Eighteenth Prize

    18th Prize - Dr. Jennifer Waters Shuler and Dr. Adrian Salic

    Department of Cell Biology - Harvard Medical School - Boston, Massachusetts, USA
    Specimen: Mitotic human cells (microtubules, kinetochores, and DNA) (1000x)
    Technique: Confocal (spinning disk)

  • Nineteenth Prize

    19th Prize - Pedro Barrios

    National Research Council of Canada (NRC) - Ottawa, Canada
    Specimen: Planarization of patterned silicon-nitride-coated silicon-substrate (200x)
    Technique: Reflected light / differential interference contrast

  • Twentieth Prize

    20th Prize - Albert Tousson

    Department of Cell Biology - University of Alabama at Birmingham - Birmingham, Alabama, USA
    Specimen: Cultured baby hamster kidney cells (1500x)
    Technique: Fluorescence

Honorable Mentions

  • Honorable Mention - Dylan T. Burnette

    New Haven, Connecticut, USA
    Specimen: Filamentous actin and microtubules in the growth cone of a bag cell neuron (800x)
    Technique: Fluorescence

  • Honorable Mention - Dr. Kuruganti Murti

    Memphis, Tennessee, USA
    Specimen: Dried antibody precipitate (1000x)
    Technique: Confocal (laser)

  • Honorable Mention - Dr. Chris Guthrie

    Seattle, Washington, USA
    Specimen: Paraformaldehyde-fixed human embryonic kidney cells (3113x)
    Technique: Fluorescence

  • Honorable Mention - Rene van Wezel

    Aylesford, UK
    Specimen: Epidermal peel from an oat leaf (100x)
    Technique: Phase contrast with Rheinberg filters

  • Honorable Mention - Donald W. Pottle, CME

    Boston, Massachusetts, USA
    Specimen: Endothelial cell culture (microtubules and nuclei) (400x)
    Technique: Fluorescence

  • Honorable Mention - Samuel J. Lawrence

    Kempton, Pennsylvania, USA
    Specimen: Polished cross section of a bamboo fly fishing rod (200x)
    Technique: Differential interference contrast

  • Honorable Mention - Dr. Ed Lein

    San Diego, California, USA
    Specimen: Coronal sections of a 10 week old mouse brain (2x)
    Technique: Darkfield

  • Honorable Mention - Ian C. Walker

    Huddersfield, UK
    Specimen: Silkworm trachea (40x)
    Technique: Darkfield / Rheinberg

  • Honorable Mention - Dr. Monica Pons

    Barcelona, Spain
    Specimen: Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly) embryo (20x)
    Technique: Confocal (laser)

  • Honorable Mention - Dr. Jaromir Plasek

    Prague, Czech Republic
    Specimen: Wing of a Lasius niger queen (garden ant) (20x)
    Technique: Fluorescence

  • Honorable Mention - Dr. John E. Hart

    Boulder, Colorado, USA
    Specimen: Resorcinal and methylene blue
    Technique: Polarized light

  • Honorable Mention - Dr. John E. Hart

    Boulder, Colorado, USA
    Specimen: Crystallized resorcinal and carbon tetrabromide (33x)
    Technique: Polarized light

  • Honorable Mention - Dr. Ales Kladnik

    Ljubljana, Slovenia
    Specimen: Flies caught on a Drosera leaf (carnivorous sundew plant) (30x)
    Technique: Reflected light

  • Honorable Mention - Dr. Marna E. Ericson

    Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
    Specimen: Ixodes scapularis (deer tick) hypostome attached to the ear of a hamster (200x
    Technique: Confocal (laser)

  • Honorable Mention - Dr. Alison J. North & Dr. Ignacio Munoz-sanjuan & Dr. Ali H. Brivanlou

    New York, New York, USA
    Specimen: Nervous system of a live Xenopus tadpole (10x)
    Technique: Confocal (laser)

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