The winning images in the ninth annual University of Rhode Island Research and Scholarship Photo Contest exemplify the power of visual communication.

The annual University of Rhode Island Research and Scholarship Photo Contest showcases the work of URI scholars working in a variety of disciplines. Students, faculty, and staff have an opportunity to share creative perspectives on their work.

This year, to recognize the many strong non-photographic research images that were entered, a Committee’s Choice prize for that category was awarded. Non-photographic entries this year included transmission electron microscopy, immunohistochemistry, infrared thermal images, and data maps, among others.

The contest is sponsored by: University of Rhode Island Magazine; the Division of Research and Economic Development magazine, Momentum: Research & Innovation; and the Rhode Island Sea Grant/URI Coastal Institute magazine, 41° North: Rhode Island’s Ocean and Coastal Magazine.

The winners are:

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First Place

A southern elephant seal pup rests on a rocky beach in South Bay, Antarctica. The recently weaned pup will remain on land, living off stored energy reserves, until it is ready to enter the ocean and begin hunting on its own. The image captures both the vulnerability and resilience of young marine mammals in a demanding and rapidly changing Antarctic environment.

“Although Antarctica feels remote,” says Sperou, “it plays a vital role in regulating Earth’s climate and supporting marine biodiversity worldwide. As climate change accelerates across the region, understanding how marine mammals adapt will be key to protecting these ecosystems and informing global conservation decisions.”

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Second Place

Robber flies are predatory insects known for speed and precision. They catch other insects in midair and inject enzymes that break down the insects’ bodies so they can consume them. Bees are important pollinators and also part of the food chain. Robber flies are one of the many insects that prey on them.

This photo, taken in Cumberland, R.I., shows a robber fly feeding on a bee. Lanagan says that as a film/media student, she has learned how to tell a story through a single frame. The photo, she says, “shows how I use framing, perspective, and attention to detail to turn a moment in nature into a meaningful story.”

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Third Place

The Eastern whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus) population has declined by approximately 70% since 1970 due to habitat loss and declines in insect prey. It is considered a species of greatest conservation need in almost every state within its range. Still, whip-poor-wills are understudied due to their cryptic plumage and nocturnal activity.

This in-the-hand portrait, says Corcoran, was taken at the Marion Eppley Wildlife Refuge in Exeter, R.I., during field work deploying radio transmitters to track the birds’ migratory movements from their breeding grounds in R.I. to wintering grounds in Mexico and Central America.

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Committee’s Choice, Research Image

As the population’s average age increases, developing treatments for age-related disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, is a research priority that requires understanding disease mechanisms. In URI’s Schrader Lab, says Hunter, “we look at how cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), a form of vascular dementia, and co-morbidity of Alzheimer’s disease, progresses, potentially informing the development of therapies and drug interventions for these diseases.”

This immunohistochemistry slide shows the activation of an immune response in the thalamus of a preclinical model for CAA at 20 times magnification. The red areas show an inflammatory response in the brain’s immune cells, and the green areas show citrullinated histone H3, a protein often found inside cells, but released in a neutrophil extracellular trap, or NET.