Virtual Backgrounds

NSF research impacts nearly every field of science and engineering. NSF's influence reaches from the ends of the Earth to the depths of the oceans and to space and beyond. Our Multimedia Gallery has some of the most stunning images from NSF’s research legacy. Explore some of our most beautiful gallery images below to download for your next virtual meeting.

pattern of annual rings in shrub stems
Pattern of annual rings in shrub stems

Credit: Image courtesy of Daniel Ackerman

Image of white fox sitting in snow.
Arctic fox sitting in snow.

Credit: Alfred-Wegener Institute/Michael Ginzburg

a jumping spider
A male jumping spider (Saitis barbipes).

Credit: Photo/Bernard Dupont/Wikimedia Commons (licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 International)

xray molecules
Special X-ray colors resonate with bonds in molecules -- methyl is pictured in this illustration -- enabling scientists to selectively probe chemically distinct parts of micelle nanocarriers.

Credit: Image created by Ryan Allen of Second Bay Studios for Washington State University

Researchers at the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array have found evidence that a neutron star is hiding deep inside the remains of supernova 1987A, shown here in an artist's representation.

Credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF, B. Saxton

Extreme close-up image of male orchid bee.
Researchers at the University of California, Davis, found that orchid bees, like this male, are easier to tell apart by the chemical differences of their perfumes than by their physical appearance.

Credit: Thomas Eltz

An array of microneedles along the surface of a medical patch.
An array of microneedles along the surface of a medical patch.

Credit: Sisi Cao

A caribou skull
A caribou skull glistens white against the tundra of northern Alaska.

Credit: Daniel Ackerman

An extreme close-up of the eye of Drosophila melanogaster, the common fruit fly.
An extreme close-up of the eye of Drosophila melanogaster, the common fruit fly.

Credit: Northwestern University

Antarctic
A lone tent lies beneath the nighttime sky above the Antarctic Peninsula.

Credit: J. Meng, American Museum of Natural History


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Science Happens Here


Science Happens Here Campaign.
Science Happens Here Campaign.

Credit: National Science Foundation

 

Learn more about Science Happens Here

Science Happens Here Campaign.
Science Happens Here Campaign.

Credit: National Science Foundation