Stefan Hell to receive the 2011 Körber Prize

With a groundbreaking idea the physicist has overcome the diffraction resolution barrier in optical microscopy

September 2, 2011 — At 11 a.m. on Wednesday, September 7th in the Great Festival Hall of Hamburg City Hall, the Körber Foundation will present the 2011 Körber European Science Prize endowed with 750,000 euros to Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Stefan W. Hell. Hamburg’s First Mayor Olaf Scholz will welcome the invited guests. Ranga Yogeshwar will be presenting the prizewinner and his research project.

The Göttingen-based physicist Stefan Hell has designed high-resolution optical microscopes which can see many times more sharply than was thought possible. Previously, the lower limit of 200 nanometres formulated by Ernst Abbe in 1873 had applied. Biologists and physiologists in particular value this new insight into the nano world beyond this limit because living cells or tissue can only be observed using optical microscopes. In 2008, for instance, neurophysiologists using the new resolution of only a few dozen nanometres succeeded in visualising the movements of tiny synaptic components for the first time.

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c Stefan Hell. Photo: Bernd Schuller. © Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry Göttingen

In addition, the technology opens up promising new prospects for the further development of optical storage media. Stefan Hell has been a Director at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen since 2002. Born in Banat, Romania in 1962, he studied physics at the University of Heidelberg, where he also did his PhD. Following research stations at the EMBL in Heidelberg and the universities of Turku and Oxford, in addition to his work in Göttingen he became a division head at the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg.

Stefan Hell will be presenting his research work at 4 p.m. on September 6th at the University of Hamburg, Physics Department, Jungiusstr. 9 in a Körber Lecture entitled “Nanoscopy with focussed light”.

In 2011, the Körber Prize is being awarded for the 27th time. Every year, it recognises outstanding scientists working in Europe for particularly promising research projects. The prize recognises excellent and innovative research approaches with high application potential on their way to attaining international standing. Selection bodies comprising top scientists from all over Europe search for suitable candidates, on whom a trustee committee finally decides.

You will find detailed information about and photographs of the prizewinner at www.koerber-preis.de .

Further information:
Körber Foundation
Matthias Mayer M.A.
Head of Department Science
Kehrwieder 12
20457 Hamburg
Telefon +49 · 40 · 80 81 92 – 181
Telefax +49 · 40 · 80 81 92 – 303
E-Mail koerberprize@koerber-stiftung.de
www.koerber-preis.de

Stefan Hell – Prizewinner 2011