ZEISS Microscopy Image Contest 2021
Winning Images
In its 175th anniversary year, ZEISS celebrates the work of researchers using microscopy in various application fields with ZEISS Microscopy Image Contest 2021. ZEISS users from around 50 countries submitted more than 1,300 fascinating entries. We were honored by their participation and we are fascinated by the quality of images we received across different research interests and application types. A big thank you to all the participants!

Explore the winning images and honorable mentions of the ZEISS Microscopy Image Contest 2021 on this web page.
Honorable Mentions

Dr. Eduardo Zattara, CONICET (Argentina)
Central nervous system of horned beetle pupa

Jaqueline Heinen-Weiler, University Hospital Essen (Germany)
Entrapped Eschericha coli

Fernando Vazquez Luna, Osnabrück University (Germany)
Polymer film with patterned pockets

Vishal Ramkar, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (India)
ZIF-8 metal oxide framework

Quinton Dos Santos, University of Johannesburg (South Africa)
Diplozoid flourescent egg

Prof. José Poloni, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (Brazil)
Uric acid crystals

Max Fussan, Free University of Berlin (Germany)
Selaginella helvetica megaspore

Caterina Di Ciano-Oliveira, St. Michael's Hospital Toronto (Canada)
Human vastus lateralis

Dr. rer. nat. Marko Pende, MDI Biological Laboratory (United States)
Axolotl soup

Stefan Meichtry, Cantonal Police Bern (Switzerland)
Gunshot residue

Nick Smeraldi, Energizer Holdings Inc. (United States)
Zinc oxide needles

Maria Cuacos, IPK Gatersleben (Germany)
Arabidopsis live root
About the Contest
The ZEISS Microscopy Image Contest is a competition held by ZEISS for images taken with a ZEISS microscope. In 2021, the submission phase took place between July 1 - 31. The authors of the top images received three prizes: ZEISS Primostar 3 microscope (1st prize), ZEISS Victory Pocket binoculars (2nd prize) and ZEISS Terra binoculars (3rd prize).
With this image contest, ZEISS is celebrating the work of researchers using microscopy in various application fields in the year of the 175th anniversary of ZEISS. Microscopy instrumentation, analytics and imaging capabilities all play a role in meeting many of our society’s most pressing challenges related to climate change, energy, health and food. The contest will be taking place in 2022 again.