Four questions for Professor Stefan Hell on the subject of FOM 2015

Hell, Stefan; Schué, Anja

March 27, 2015 Story

Four questions for Professor Stefan Hell on the subject of FOM 2015

"Microscopy is one of the hottest areas of research – at the interface between physics, chemistry and life sciences."

For Professor Stefan Hell, who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2014 for the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy and the development of STED microscopy, the Focus on Microscopy conference has a very special significance. It was at the FOM in Amsterdam 1992 where Hell gave his first lecture at a scientific meeting. The Director of the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry is naturally delighted that the FOM is being held in Göttingen, Germany, this year. This Sunday, Hell will speak on the subject of "Far-field optical nanoscopy: principles and recent advancements" as part of the Opening Plenary.

Authors

What does it mean to you that the FOM is being held in Göttingen this year?

I’m pleased that Göttingen is the venue for this year’s FOM because Göttingen is a stronghold of microsopy – all the way from basic research to applications in life sciences and commercial manufacture. Göttingen is one of the ‘constant wellsprings' of great advances in microscopy.

What are your expectations regarding FOM 2015?

That even more scientists will realize the enormous progress made in light microscopy over the last 20 years – practically from an apparently ‘antiquated field‘ to one of the hottest areas of research at the interface between physics, chemistry and life sciences.