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Research in Focus is an annual research photography competition that accepts submissions from UWinnipeg students, faculty, staff, retirees, and alumni. This competition is a chance to take viewers into the field, inside the lab, or onto the stage to visualize what researchers have witnessed, discovered, or created as they pursue academic excellence.

Below are the photos submitted to the competition in 2026. The winners can be viewed on the Research in Focus main webpage.

 Faces of Discovery

From the back of a rock shelter, an excavation site can be seen with team members setting up and the bright sun streaming rays onto the site
Awe and Wonder
Melanie San Filippo
Graduate Student
A researcher in orange standing on a rock wall in a mine collecting samples of a white mineral deposit flowing from the outcrop.
A Rock-Solid Observation
Paul Mann
Staff
Angela stands at the front of a classroom, presenting oral history site Was sie uns lehren können. The home page is projected on a screen above her.
What They Can Teach Us and What We Can Teach You
Angela Carlson
Staff
A high-angle view from the deck of the MV Namao research vessel on Lake Winnipeg during a vibrant sunset. Three researchers wearing orange hard hats.
NAMAO Under the Setting Sun on Lake Winnipeg
Allyza Tabirara
Undergraduate Student
A biologist wearing a face mask and gloves is stretching out and inspecting the right wing of a little brown bat.
Tiniest Handshake
Malcolm Reimer
Graduate Student
A person loading samples into a scanning electron microscope.
SEM loading at ORNL
Daniel MacPherson
Undergraduate Student
Taylor Cangemi presents her bat research to an attentive audience at a scientific conference, with rows of people watching and taking notes.
Sharing Discovery
Taylor Cangemi
Undergraduate Student
A portrait shot of Jaime Orr taken in her office with a dual lens, 360-degree camera.
Jaime Orr: Do You Wanna Data Librarian?
Joffrey Abainza
Staff
Three female scientists smiling at the camera, wearing blue gloves with pictures drawn on them in sharpie. Shelves with reagent bottles in background.
The Glia Club
Jasmyne Storm
Staff
Photo taken from a drone POV.
Is that a bird?!
Ella Zychowski
Undergraduate Student

Artistry in Research

Person holding a supportive sign at Pride Winnipeg march with rainbow text that reads “we are all awesome in God’s eyes.”
All Are Awesome
Maddalena Nowosad
Alumni
A long corridor with polished floors, overhead fluorescent lights, and exposed white ceiling pipes. The walls are lined with colourful diagonal beams
Entering the Corridor of Knowing (The First Walk)
Gabriel Bell-Gam
Graduate Student
A stone fortress half-wall overlooking trees and a river. There is a hand touching some of the carved letters from names that cover the ledge
Touching the Past
Melanie San Filippo
Graduate Student
A pink, yellow, and turquoise doll abdomen is featured as an abstract close up. The head and legs of the doll are off-camera.
Valley of the Doll
Catherine-Laura Dunnington
Faculty
A lively scene from the German Christmas Market, with various tables selling handmade crafts, cheerful laughter, and a festive atmosphere.
The German Christmas Market, Winnipeg, 2025
Juan Li
Staff
The Golden Horn Mountain in Whitehorse, YK.
Reflections Along the Yukon River
Tabitha Evans
Graduate Student
The photo shows a work desk with computer monitor and laptop. Closed books are arranged on the table, and Angela peeks out from behind an open book.
Like Father, Like Son? Let's Find Out!
Angela Carlson
Staff
A red telephone booth poses as an AED station.
Telephone Booth on a new Mission
Helen Friesen
Faculty
A colour photo of green trees in a forest reflected on calm water, with morning light
Where Passion Meets Research
Nadeesha Dissanayaka
Alumni
A winter night shot of Broadway and Main intersection looking like an impressionist painting.
Broadway And Main, Winnipeg
Joffrey Abainza
Staff
A black and white, long-exposure photo of three female scientists in lab coats moving around a research lab space.
Blur of Discovery
Jasmyne Storm
Staff
An uneven rock wall glowing with patches of bright red, blue and turquoise.
Luminescence in the Underground
Cecilia Eason
Graduate Student
Person using a toonie as size reference. Collecting samples from site.
Rocks & Minerals!
Ella Zychowski
Undergraduate Student

Community Catalysts

A woman in an outdoor skatepark, wearing a white shirt and jeans balances on her skateboard on top of an obstacle decorated with the trans pride flag.
Claiming Space to Skate
Maddalena Nowosad
Alumni
Our German-Canadian Studies team delivered a lecture titled “German-Canadian Archives” at The Wellington, with senior residents engaging actively.
Where German-Canadian Archives Meet Community
Juan Li
Staff
A series of 3 photos - two men assembling large solar panels, a field with festival attendees, and a man next to a solar panel talking to two kids.
Climate and Energy Conversations at Trout Forest Music Festival
Devin Latimer
Faculty
A photo of a webinar session on Zoom.
Knowledge Mobilization on new monograph
Jane Barter
Faculty
A motion-blur photo of a person coming in the Library's entrance.
The Ins And Outs Of The Library
Joffrey Abainza
Staff
Person in canoe splashing a rubber ducky. Taken on the Red River.
A new friend
Ella Zychowski
Undergraduate Student

Framing Fieldwork

A hallway with pink walls, a bright window on the far wall and closed white doors each of which have work boots sitting on the hardwood floor.
Where the Heart is
Melanie San Filippo
Graduate Student
A brown bat held in a persons hand wearing a blue glove. The persons hand is holding the bats forearm, which has a metal arm band.
Banding in the moonlight
Kristina Muise
Faculty
A panoramic view of a rugged, harsh, volcanic landscape featuring researchers in Hawai'i at the Twin Pit Craters in Volcano National Park.
Double Trouble
Paul Mann
Staff
Comes from the 1987 UW Strategic Plan (document discovered at UW library). By UW IRS Collective (Profs Eyford, Froman, McCallum, Millions and Thiessen, who took the photo). Sheds light on the importance of the United Church at UW, a significant factor in UW's history with the IRS system.
UW aimes to "maintain and strengthen our historic ties with the United Church of Canada"
Mary Jane McCallum
Faculty
An image of a rectangular piece of graphite in a metal holder. A bright purple laser spot generates a shower of orange sparks.
From Graphite to Diamond with Lasers
>Simon Pankratz
Undergraduate Student
CANSTOREnergy team members touring the Whitehorse Hydro Facility.
CANSTOREnergy Team Visit to the Whitehorse Hydro Facility, Yukon
Tabitha Evans
Graduate Student
An aerial perspective of Peyto Lake, a bright turquoise glacial lake, nestled in a deep valley in Alberta.
Reflecting on the Diversity of Canada's Freshwater Lakes
Allyza Tabirara
Undergraduate Student>
A woman in a bright blue jacket walks through snow to a black car parked on a gravel road. There is a pine forest in the background.
The Worst Field Vehicle of All Time
Malcolm Reimer
Graduate Student
Autonomous rover with sensors and camera next to laptop in research lab setting
From Lab to Farm Field
Tung Ki Wong
Staff
Three pairs of hands holding a plant pressed on paper.
Helping hands
Rafael Otfinowski
Faculty
A bald eagle flying freely in the clear sky with green trees in the background.
Sign of a Living Landscape
Nadeesha Dissanayaka
Alumni
A harp trap stands at a mine entrance at dusk, with a researcher behind it using a red headlamp against a rocky hillside surrounded by rainforest.
Illuminating Emergence
Taylor Cangemi
Undergraduate Student
Person in waders collecting data using a multimeter. Photo taken in Manitoba’s wetlands
Quick Dip
Ella Zychowski
Undergraduate Student

Powered Perception

A dark blue and black background with a slash of yellow, orange and green with three orbs, two on the right and one on the left.
The Hidden Geometry of Culinary History
Safia Soussi Gounni
Undergraduate Studen
A black and white photo of the Assiniboine River flowing through downtown Winnipeg captured with with an Infrared camera.
Beyond the Eye
Paul Mann
Staff
None
Black excellence
Tobe Aguegbodo
Undergraduate Student
Wesley hall building just before the snow facing sunlight during golden hour along with the garden in landscape frame.
A sight from Sun
Bhuvan Sharma
Undergraduate Student
Scanning electron microscope image on top and the same image with XPS overlay below showing chemical elements consistent with biology.
Blood, Sweat, and Tears
Daniel MacPherson
Undergraduate Student
A neon-lit scene shows a rotary platform with a potted plant on a checkerboard base, while a laptop in the dim background displays a similar 3D image.
Plant Portraits in 3D: A Photogrammetric Adventure
Elena GomezHaro
Staff
Soil nematode extracted from soil and magnified 400x using a light microscope.
Prairie nematode
Rafael Otfinowski
Faculty
A microscopic image of diagonally arranged, purple-stained tissue with branching finger-like projections and oval, blue cells within the tips.
The Architecture of Breathing
Kiara Eggerman
Undergraduate Student
A fluorescence microscopy photo of an irregularly-shaped cellular structure (in red) surrounded by round cell nuclei (in blue), on a black background.
Turning Red
Jasmyne Storm
Staff
Microscopic image of rat tetroperitoneal fat stained with Oil Red O, showing bright red circular lipids against a pale background.
Red-Handed: Caught Storing Energy
Maleena Grewal
Undergraduate Student
Hepatocytes are stained in blue while fat droplets containing triglycerides are stained in red.
It's Bulking Season
Noah Lewicki
Graduate Student
A little snake found on a hill of gypsum.
Maybe it’s the friends you make along the way…
Ella Zychowski
Undergraduate Student

Voting has now closed. Results will be announced during the 3MT finals Thursday, March 19 between 4:30 - 6-30 PM.