Images capture science in action and nature’s beauty

This year’s Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability photo contest highlights Earth’s beauty, challenges facing people and the planet, and action to advance global sustainability.

A curious bear forages at sunrise, silhouetted against snow-capped mountains. A pair of researchers collect tidepool samples at sundown in Morro Bay. A harbor seal pup nuzzles its adoring mother near Elkhorn Slough. Such are a few of the treasures among the winners of the 2024 Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability photo contest.

Each year, the school’s photo contest showcases the remarkable talent of the Stanford community – not only as visual artists and storytellers, but also as scholars working to make the world more sustainable – all while highlighting nature’s struggles to survive.

“I think photography, when it's done well, can communicate about sustainability in a very profound way that you can't with words or any other medium,” said this year’s guest judge, George Steinmetz, ʻ79 Geophysics, a photographer known for his striking images of the world and the times in which we live.

“Overall, I was impressed with the diversity of subject matter and with the talent among the contestants who are, after all, essentially taking pictures at their workplaces. That’s not easy, even for a professional,” Steinmetz said. “So, congratulations to all the photographers on that count. It was a great honor to be invited to be a judge and a great way for me to reconnect with this university that has meant so much to me.”

One-hundred-forty Stanford students, postdoctoral scholars, faculty, staff, and alumni submitted 409 photographs to the 2024 photo contest – the most submissions in the contest's history.

Judges selected a dozen finalists and a handful of honorable mentions. A quick scan of the images provides a deeper appreciation of all that is at stake should sustainability efforts fall short. There is no lack of beauty and power, awe and cuteness among the winners, but there is also a bittersweet sense of all that has been lost already.

The judges evaluated photos in four categories reflecting the school’s focus on cultivating deep knowledge and high-impact solutions to pressing planetary challenges: Action and Impact in the Field; Action and Impact on Campus; Beauty in Nature; and The Challenges We Face.

Research, fieldwork, and collaboration on a global scale are showcased in the Action and Impact in the Field category. First place winner Paul Summers, a geophysics PhD candidate, took top honors with his photo of fellow PhD candidate Danny May heading out for fieldwork on Thwaites Glacier, Antarctica.

Images in the Action and Impact on Campus category portray Stanford changemakers, researchers, and students at work on campus. Physics doctoral student Bernardita Ried Guachalla topped the category with her analog selfie in front of a filter for the world’s largest digital camera at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

Photos entered in the Beauty in Nature category present wildlife and landscapes in their ever-changing glory. Category winner Kate Bradley, BS/MS ‘24, Earth Systems, captured an austere scene of a lone soul standing atop the ridge of a sand dune at sunrise in Oman’s Āl Wahībah Dunes.

Submissions in the final category, The Challenges We Face, draw focus to wildfires, ocean plastic pollution, drought, and other environmental challenges. Matt Flores, a staff member in the Office of Development, won the category with a stark black-and-white image of fire-ravaged trees against a somber sky in Santa Rosa, California, following the Tubbs Fire.

Judges ranked images on artistic merits including color, composition, and lighting, as well as on content such as subject, emotional impact, and category fit.

First-place winners receive an annual pass for U.S. National Parks and federal recreational lands and a Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability water bottle. All awarded photographers, including honorable mentions, receive a certificate of recognition and the opportunity to have their work displayed at Roble Arts Gym during the Spring Arts Fair on April 26, at Stanford’s Redwood City campus, and in the Mitchell Building’s Hartley conference room.

Action and Impact in the Field

First Place

Paul Summers
PhD candidate, Geophysics, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability

A student walking on a glacier toward their research station with tents and flags obscured by the icy fog around them — PhD candidate Danny May heading to work on Thwaites Glacier, Antarctica. Photographer: Paul Summers

Second Place

Nicole Lin
Postdoctoral research fellow, School of Medicine

Fisheye lens view of ocean surface. A shark beneath the surface and a team of researchers above on a boat tagging it — Shark scientists tagging a nurse shark off the coast of West Palm Beach, Florida aboard Angari research vessel. Photographer: Nicole Lin

Third Place

Submitted by Lauren Lubeck
PhD student, Biology, Hopkins Marine Station, School of Humanities and Sciences

Photographed by Laurent Formery
Postdoctoral researcher, Biology, Hopkins Marine Station, School of Humanities and Sciences

Small silhouettes of two researchers with equipment standing in the water, which reflects the blue stretch of sky above — Lauren Lubeck, PhD '26, with Professor Chris Lowe collecting hemichordates in Morro Bay, California. Photographer: Laurent Formery

Honorable Mention

Gert van Dijken
Staff, Earth System Science, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability

Researchers in bright orange jackets drilling into a sheet of ice with a large blue research vessel in the background — Stephanie Lim, PhD, drilling in the ice to collect ice cores with Professor Kevin Arrigo. Chukchi Sea, Arctic Ocean. Photographer: Gert van Dijken