Pictures and Professors
The annual World Press Photo exhibition is back in Atlas. The powerful photographs have prompted Pieter Pauw to reflect: should scientists communicate their research findings differently—making them more concrete and tangible?
I’m a news junkie, but no photographer or photography expert. When I’m in an unfamiliar city, you’re unlikely to find me at the local photography museum. So taking part in the Pictures and Professors program was quite a leap into the unknown.
Still, I immediately said yes when Studium Generale invited me to reflect on a series of photographs through the lens of my own research. I love that the World Press Photo exhibition comes to Atlas every year and draws so many people to TU/e. I’m happy to contribute to that.
As I prepared, I realized that researchers and (photo)journalists share many interests and values: we search for the truth, look for context, and want to explain things.
Yet I also noticed a major difference: the findings of research, including my own, are often abstract. “Global warming of 2.6 degrees by 2100.” “One meter of sea-level rise this century.” “Adapting to climate change in developing countries will cost more than $300 billion a year.” “A lack of investment in climate change mitigation and adaptation means that risks and damage continue to increase.”
The photographs I was asked to discuss, by contrast, were deeply affecting. These images not only make the damage caused by climate change visible, but also convey the scale of the problem and the pain behind it.
The economic damage suffered by the sixty families watching the sea swallow their fishing village is marginal. The fish had already left because of warming waters. But the pain, suffering, and lack of prospects for the future are immense.
In this way, the photographs also hold up a mirror to us: are we communicating our research in the right way? Or should we leave that to journalism—and art? I hope I also managed to get the audience thinking. Thank you to Studium Generale, and please make Pictures and Professors an annual event!
The World Press Photo Exhibition 2026 is on display in the central hall of Atlas on the TU/e campus through October 28.
Pieter Pauw researches climate policy and is an assistant professor in the Technology, Innovation and Society group (IE&IS). The views expressed in this column are his own.
This column was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by the author and an editor.
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