Scientist rewarded for creative flair in national science photo competition

A researcher from the University of Plymouth has won £500 worth of photographic vouchers in the inaugural Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) science photo competition. Felicity Crotty, a PhD student based at North Wyke Research, near Okehampton, is in the final year of her PhD, with the University of Plymouth. She won the Agriculture, Food, Diet and Health category which asked for scientific images illustrating the science underpinning agriculture, food, and diet and health. Felicity, 27, was born in Plymouth and went to Notre Dame Secondary School, before studying Biology at Bath University where she obtained a first class honours degree. She said; "I entered the competition because I wanted to illustrate just how fascinating the animals living within the soil really are. Looking at the fauna extracted from a soil sample under the microscope is like looking at a different world." BBSRC-funded researchers were asked to submit images that captured the excitement of new knowledge; the intricacies of research; or the sheer beauty of the natural world. Paul Gemmill, BBSRC Director of Communications and Information Management, said: "The entrants gave the competition judges a difficult job because the standard of images entered for the competition was remarkably high.