Eric Betzig facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Eric Betzig
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Betzig in 2015
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Robert Eric Betzig
January 13, 1960 Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.
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| Known for | Photoactivated localization microscopy Lattice light-sheet microscopy |
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| Children | Cayden, Ravi, Max, Mia, Zoe |
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| Fields | Applied physics |
| Institutions | Howard Hughes Medical Institute University of California, Berkeley |
| Thesis | Near-field Scanning Optical Microscopy (1988) |
| Doctoral advisor | Michael Isaacson |
Robert Eric Betzig (born January 13, 1960) is an American physicist. He is a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. He also works at the Janelia Farm Research Campus.
Betzig is famous for his work on fluorescence microscopy. This is a way to see tiny things using light. He helped create a special type called photoactivated localization microscopy. In 2014, he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He shared it with Stefan Hell and William E. Moerner. They won for making super-powerful microscopes.
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Early Life and Education
Eric Betzig was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1960. His father, Robert Betzig, was an engineer. Eric wanted to work in the aerospace industry when he grew up.
He studied physics at the California Institute of Technology. He earned his first degree there in 1983. Later, he went to Cornell University. His teacher there was Michael Isaacson.
At Cornell, he earned two more degrees. He got a master's degree and a PhD in applied physics. This was in 1985 and 1988. For his PhD, he worked on special microscopes. He wanted them to see things smaller than what was thought possible.
Career Highlights
Working at Bell Laboratories
After finishing his studies, Betzig started working at AT&T Bell Laboratories in 1989. His colleague, William E. Moerner, made a microscope that could see very tiny things. But it only worked in extremely cold conditions.
Inspired by this, Betzig made a big breakthrough in 1993. He was the first to see individual glowing molecules at room temperature. He could also figure out their exact positions. This was a huge step forward for microscopy. For this work, he received important awards.
A Break from Academia
In 1994, Betzig decided to leave his job. He felt frustrated with the academic world. He spent some time at home taking care of his children.
In 1996, he started working again. He joined a company partly owned by his family. There, he tried to develop a new technology. However, it did not sell well.
Return to Microscopy Research
In 2002, Betzig came back to the world of microscopes. He started a new research company. He was inspired by another scientist's work with glowing proteins.
He then developed a new method called photoactivated localization microscopy (PALM). This method uses flashes of light to create very clear images. These images are much sharper than older ones.
He and his old colleague, Harald Hess, built the first microscope using this new technology. They built it very quickly. This new microscope gained a lot of attention.
In 2006, he joined the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Farm Research Campus. Here, he continued to develop super high-resolution microscopy. He used these new tools to study how human cells divide.
In 2014, Eric Betzig won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He shared this big award with Stefan Hell and William E. Moerner. They were honored for making these amazing super-resolved microscopes.
In 2016, Pope Francis appointed him to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. This is a group of top scientists from around the world. In 2017, Betzig joined the faculty at UC Berkeley. He also works at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Personal Life
Eric Betzig has been married twice. With his first wife, Ruby Ghosh, he has two sons named Cayden and Ravi. With his second wife, Na Ji, he has three children: Max, Mia, and Zoe.
See also
In Spanish: Eric Betzig para niños
