This winning, forest-like image by chemical engineering graduate student Estatira Amirieh emerged from a laboratory bench, not nature.
Graduate students swept the top three spots in this year’s Waterloo Engineering contest to recognize striking photographs taken during academic research.
The first-place prize of $1,000 went to chemical engineering student Estatira Amirieh for a forest-like image that emerged from a laboratory bench, not nature. Its delicate structures were created through electrospinning, a process in which a liquid polymer solution is pulled by electric fields into ultra-thin threads that solidify as they travel through the air.
Mikhail Malmyguine, a mechanical and mechatronics engineering student, took second place and $500 for a digital microscopy image of a laser weld produced by the laser directed energy deposition (LDED) process. It features colourful streaks of iron and titanium oxides radiating out from a bright protusion at its centre.
Olivia Graham and Gaya Shnayder finished third and won $250 for an image of a nanopatterned tissue culture polystyrene chip. Nanopatterns diffract light, producing a rainbow of colours.
The 2025 Art of Engineering and Architecture research photo contest was open to all registered students, postdoctoral fellows, staff members and faculty members. The winning images will be featured in faculty communications throughout the year.
“Their work beautifully showcases the creativity, curiosity and innovation driving research within our faculty,” Dean Mary Wells said in an email announcing the winners today.
Explore all three winning images and browse past contest winners on the Research photo contest winners page.