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The University of Southampton
Doctoral College

Researcher Photography Competition 2017

We are delighted to be able to showcase the winners of and entries to our Researcher Photography Competition, each showing a different response to the theme of community.

Congratulations to our winners and all who took part.

The Doctoral College Award

Photo A

David Ignacio Cortes
PhD in Complex Systems Simulation, Year of Candidature: 4
Faculty of Engineering and the Environment

As a whole, a community sustains itself by respecting it's environment; synchronising with the natural cycle of life.  As a single entity, being part of a community means supporting one another for the sake of living, despite the differences between individuals.

In this picture, a group of mushrooms live together as a community in the New Forest, taking care of their surroundings by balancing the ecosystem in the forest. They populate their environment staying as a family, helping each other to survive in different spaces, as well as allowing other forms of life to bloom, collaborating with other species. As human beings, we can certainly learn from their their harmonious life within their environment, making our planet a better place to live, as a community.

Judging Panel's Comments

The judging panel selected this image as it not only responded to the theme of the PGR community through the symbolism of mushrooms in that ‘they live together as a community taking care of their surroundings…staying together as a family....’ the panel was also in agreement that the photograph itself was taken with careful consideration and skill as a macro shot image with depth of field. This enables to the front of the image to stand out against the background.

The Jury Prize

jury prize

Zainab Jasem
Centre for Innovation and Leadership
Faculty of Health Sciences

This image represents community by portraying “lunch” which illustrates the “differences with respect”. Three different meal dishes represent three different regions in this world: the western (pasta), East Asian (noodles) and Middle Eastern (rice with meat). The background also represents two languages with their unique writings.

Food was specifically selected to represent lunch as the time where students meet and chat freely away from their researchers’ dresses expressing whom they are. Individuals can pretend in so many situations, but when it comes to food, it is not easy to force yourself to eat what you dislike! During lunch time, all students come with their own original dishes and their unique smells, tastes, looks and colours which represent their unique culture and tradition including their languages, speech and faith.

Lunch time is the time where students do not only share food and knowledge, but also cultures, ideas, excitement and woes. Most importantly is sharing with respect! The photo demonstrates that by not mixing the different meals but setting them next to each others as there are always boundaries and lines which we cannot be crossed. This represents respect. Respect allows better and safer opportunities for learning, not only about others but also to understand ourselves by paying more attention to specific details as a way of answering colleagues’ questions freely. Overall, we are all different with uniqueness and respecting these differences enhance our community by the growth of its individuals and their experiences.

Judging Panel's comments

Another carefully considered photograph which responded well to the brief of community through the act of sharing food and coming together as a community through lunch. As Zainab describes, ‘Lunch time is the time where students do not only share food and knowledge, but also cultures, ideas, excitement and woes…’ This photograph has been taken with considerable thought as it is carefully constructed and presented as an image.

People's Choice Vote

people's choice

Catrin Sohrabi
Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences

Droplets, typically those that are much smaller than your average rain based droplet, have recently emerged as excellent reaction vessels for the miniaturisation of various biochemical and chemical tests for use in the life sciences and beyond. Such droplets begin their lives as simple free-flowing streams that are later broken up into millions, if not billions, of individual compartments to form a collection, or tightly knit family, of structurally well-defined and uniform parts that complement each other’s existence.

Those presented herein are inherently identical - a community amongst prominent oil puddles or pools, that interact and stack neatly against one another, relying solely upon each other for support, hope, and trust, to form one of the most beautiful and natural forms of true hexagonal packing and arrangement. Make no mistake, however, as these droplets are a force to be reckoned with; their spirit and determination to form part of the literal solution to achieving great scientific success will never be thwarted, and neither will their structure nor well-being be undermined – they are incredibly stable entities, and as a community, their resilience is strengthened further by numbers.

Judging Panel's comments
A wonderful somewhat abstract image of cells representing the PGR community, has been selected by the University of Southampton community.

 

All the entries

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