MELVILLE, NY-The Nikon 2004 Small World Photomicrography Competition celebrates 30 years. Nikon Instruments Inc., a microscope and digital imaging technology manufacturer, sponsors the annual contest to celebrate the possibilities of photography through microscopes. This year, the winners were unveiled October 6 at the Good Morning America studios in Times Square and will begin a museum tour across the country in January.

Lee Shuett, executive vice president of Nikon Instruments says, "The photographs featured in the gallery of art demonstrate scientific curiosity blended with extraordinary artistic sensibility."

Out of 1,200 submitted images this year, 20 were selected for exhibition. This year's first prize was awarded to Seth Coe-Sullivan from MIT's department of electrical engineering and computer sciences in Cambridge, MA. Coe-Sullivan's winning image was a 200X-zoomed quantum dot nanocrystals deposited on a silicon substrate.

Eric Flem, communications manager for the company says of the winning images, "These photos allow us to share in the special moments of discovery that spark scientific curiosity, and can serve as inspiration to aspiring scientists."

The deadline for the 2005 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition is June 30, 2005. Anyone over 18 years of age is welcome to apply. Images can be sent in 35 mm format or digital images can be uploaded at MicroscopyU on Nikon's Web site at www.nikonusa.com. For more information contact Nikon Small World, Nikon Instruments Inc., 1300 Walt Whitman Road, Melville, NY 11747 or call (631) 547-8569.