Research Revealed

The colorful fin of a zebrafish.
Image by Madeline Thomason

Share the Art of your Discovery

Research Revealed is a photo and multimedia contest for University of Oregon undergraduates involved in research and creative scholarship.

Submit your photo or multimedia

 

Research Revealed is sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation and the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program.

Contest Details

Important Dates
  • Contest opens February, 16, 2026.
  • Contest closes March, 13, 2026.
  • Entrants will be notified by April 3, 2026.
  • Award winning photos will be displayed at the Week of Research and Innovation on April 7, 2026 and the Undergraduate Research Symposium on May 7, 2026.
Eligibility

The contest is open to all currently enrolled undergraduates at the University of Oregon.

One entry will be accepted per person.

Evaluation Criteria

Submissions may depict the subject of your research or capture the process of doing research. Entries will be judged on the following criteria:

  • Aesthetic appeal.
  • Creativity, composition, and visual impact.
  • Conciseness and clarity of the written description of the image.
Prizes

Prizes will be awarded in both the photo and multimedia categories. 

  • First place: $125
  • Second place: $100
  • One $50 people's choice winner will be selected during the Week of Research and Innovation.

University fiscal policy requires that monetary awards in excess of $50 are reported as taxable income to the recipient.

Submission Guidelines

A person's hand holds a book that is heavily marked with sticky notes and underlined text.
Images of research in the humanities are encouraged. Photo by Lauryn Cole.
  • Size: Files must be no larger than 100 MB
    • Videos larger than this should be shared via a link to the video
  • Accepted formats
    • Image: .jpg, .png., or .tif
      • Minimum resolution: 300 dpi, vertical or horizontal orientations are accepted
    • Videos: .avi, .mp4, .mov
    • Audio: .mp3, .aif, .iff
  • Description of image or multimedia product (maximum 150 words): If the product features someone conducting research, be sure to describe what the person featured is doing. The description should be written so that someone who is not a researcher in your field can understand what is occurring in the photo, video, etc. The description is weighed heavily in determining winning entries. 
  • If an individual appears in the image or video, a model release form must be completed for that person.
  • Images or videos containing human research subjects MUST have PI approval before submission.
  • No imagery of vertebrate research animals will be accepted.
  • Photos may be edited to a reasonable degree (basic editing of color, contrast, brightness, etc.). Drastic alterations (e.g., addition or removal of significant portions of the photo using editing software, etc.) are generally discouraged.
  • No AI-generated images will be accepted.
  • Submissions must be original, unpublished work and must be created by the student submitting the image. See this UO Libraries page on copyright.
  • By submitting an image to this contest, the students release usage rights to the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation.

Submission Portal

Use the submission form to complete your entry by March 13, 2026 at 11:59 p.m.

Submit Your Photo or Multimedia

Past Winners

These three winners received monetary prizes and were featured at last year's Undergraduate Research Symposium. In 2026, we will expand the contest to include separate photo and multimedia categories.

1st Place: A trip down (muscle) memory lane
A microscopy image of stained, cross-sectional view of human skeletal muscle tissue.
Image by Kaitlyn Augienello
"A cross-sectional view of human skeletal muscle tissue stained for measurement of various informational parameters. A main goal of our research is to identify trends in muscle across different activity levels over time. This image provides just a momentary snapshot in the storybook of skeletal muscle memory, a phenomena highlighted in our ongoing study. With our analysis, we compile thousands of images and compare the highlighted parameters. This photograph is just the beginning of a Trip Down (Muscle) Memory Lane!"
2nd Place: Red fluorescent protein in C. elegans
Microscopy image of transparent nematodes that appear red due to genetic engineering.
Image by Nora Vanasse
"These C. elegans worms have been genetically engineered to express red fluorescent protein, which serves as a vivid biological marker, allowing scientists to track the presence of specific genes in the genome. Fluorescence intensity can qualitatively indicate how much of a particular gene is expressed without any formal genotyping. Fluorescent proteins like RFP are powerful and versitile tools in molecular biology - and they look pretty awesome too!"
3rd Place: Fire on Carpenter Mountain
A snow-covered, burn-scarred hillside in the foreground and snow peaked mountains in the background.
Image by Kyla Schmitt
"Last summer, upon receiving the O’Day Fellowship, I got the opportunity to work in the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest: a long-term ecological research site nestled in the western Cascades, 50 miles from the University of Oregon. The Andrews was swept by wildfire in 2023, simultaneously frustrating ongoing environmental monitoring and creating fascinating natural experiments, facilitating applied research on how post-wildfire conditions and other ecological phenomena interact. Working under my graduate mentor, Ethan Torres, I surveyed vegetation in meter-square quadrats to understand how fungi mediate native plant re-establishment post-burn. After a day of hard work in the field, Ethan treated us to a favorite Andrews view: a lookout from Carpenter Mountain. With a burn-scarred hillside in the foreground and the Three Sisters looming silently in the background, this awe-inspiring landscape instills a strong sense of place, shaping the ecosystems that research teams like ours have the privilege of learning from."