For the fifth year, researchers across Germany submitted their most striking images – from neural networks to Mars landscapes – and the winners have been revealed. Check out all the award-winning images here!

🏆 Spotlight Winner: A Bark Beetle’s Stellar Gut

One standout is “A Bark Beetle’s Stellar Gut” by Jenny Hein & Thomas van de Kamp from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Using a 3D synchrotron scan, the image reveals the star-shaped foregut of a bark beetle – tiny, intricate, and invisible to the naked eye. This is a digital microscope on steroids, showing internal structures without harming the specimen.

Why it’s extraordinary: Synchrotrons are ring-shaped particle accelerators that generate extremely intense X-rays. Only a handful of these facilities exist worldwide. Millions of individual X-ray images are captured from multiple angles and combined into a detailed 3D model. It’s far beyond a simple X-ray – a true peek into the hidden world of tiny life forms.

🧠 More Winning Moments

In total, 104 images were nominated, showcasing everything from brain research and planetary photos to dynamic biology and material science. The top 20 images will even travel on a wandering exhibition across Germany! ✨

Stay Tuned!

In one of our next newsletters, we will take you behind the scenes and talk to the winners Jenny Hein and Thomas van de Kamp about their image, what drives them as young scientists, and how to come to KIT as an international researcher.
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) is a leading research university in Germany and one of the largest scientific institutions in Europe, known for its excellence in research and teaching and as a driver of innovation and start-ups.

💡 Fun fact: here in Vancouver, TRIUMF – Canada’s national particle accelerator centre – also operates a world-class synchrotron, making it a hub for cutting-edge research in physics, life sciences, and materials science.

Visit a Synchroton!

If you’d like to see a synchrotron up close, TRIUMF in Vancouver is the place to go. Its flagship 520 MeV cyclotron – the largest of its kind – and other accelerator facilities can be explored on public tours, giving visitors a firsthand look at Canada’s cutting-edge research.

German Astrophycisist at Vancouver Synchroton

Don't miss our interview with Prof. Dr. Iris Dillmann, one of the German astrophysicists at TRIUMF, about her fascinating work at TRIUMF and with the cyclotron!