Milestone-Proposal:Optical Tweezers

To see comments, or add a comment to this discussion, click here.

Docket #:2024-02

This proposal has been submitted for review.

---

To the proposer’s knowledge, is this achievement subject to litigation? No

Is the achievement you are proposing more than 25 years old? Yes

Is the achievement you are proposing within IEEE’s designated fields as defined by IEEE Bylaw I-104.11, namely: Engineering, Computer Sciences and Information Technology, Physical Sciences, Biological and Medical Sciences, Mathematics, Technical Communications, Education, Management, and Law and Policy. Yes

Did the achievement provide a meaningful benefit for humanity? Yes

Was it of at least regional importance? Yes

Has an IEEE Organizational Unit agreed to pay for the milestone plaque(s)? Yes

Has the IEEE Section(s) in which the plaque(s) will be located agreed to arrange the dedication ceremony? Yes

Has the IEEE Section in which the milestone is located agreed to take responsibility for the plaque after it is dedicated? Yes

Has the owner of the site agreed to have it designated as an IEEE Milestone? Yes

---

Year or range of years in which the achievement occurred:

1987-1997

Title of the proposed milestone:

Optical Trapping and its applications including atomic cooling and manipulation of biological systems, 1970

Plaque citation summarizing the achievement and its significance; if personal name(s) are included, such name(s) must follow the achievement itself in the citation wording: Text absolutely limited by plaque dimensions to 70 words; 60 is preferable for aesthetic reasons.

In 1969, Arthur Ashkin demonstrated optical trapping using lasers, envisioning optically trapping atoms. This groundbreaking discovery, and subsequent research by Steven Chu, sparked a global scientific pursuit to confine microscopic objects, from atoms and molecules to later, tiny living organisms. Optical traps, and in particular optical tweezers, have become powerful tools in biology, chemistry, medicine, and physics, enabling non-destructive exploration of the mechanics of life and fundamental physical processes.

200-250 word abstract describing the significance of the technical achievement being proposed, the person(s) involved, historical context, humanitarian and social impact, as well as any possible controversies the advocate might need to review.

"The 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics honors “groundbreaking inventions in the field of laser physics” on opposite ends of the time and intensity scale." "Arthur Ashkin of the United States invented “optical tweezers,” which use low-power laser beams to manipulate tiny objects such as living cells." "Working at Bell Labs in 1970, Ashkin first showed that the pressure of lasers emitting tightly focused, stable beams of light could move small particles. The following year, he showed that an upwards pointing laser beam could provide enough of a push on a small particle to offset the force of gravity. But that levitation found only limited use because other forces such as Brownian motion in water can easily push such a small particle out of the laser beam’s path. In 1986, Ashkin and a Bell Labs team including Steven Chu developed optical tweezers. Their invention featured a short-focus lens that created a strong gradient in the laser beam capable of trapping particles from tens of nanometers to tens of micrometers, even in water. That technique was soon used to demonstrate feats including laser cooling of atoms, for which Steven Chu shared the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics." [Ref 1] 2018 Nobel Physics Prize for Pioneering Laser Work The honorees, recognized for work on ultrashort, ultrapowerful laser pulses, and delicate laser manipulation of tiny biological structures, include the first woman to get the physics prize since 1963 Jeff Hecht 02 Oct 2018

IEEE technical societies and technical councils within whose fields of interest the Milestone proposal resides.

Photonics, Engineering in Medicine and Biology, Instrumentation & Measurements

In what IEEE section(s) does it reside?

North Jersey Section

IEEE Organizational Unit(s) which have agreed to sponsor the Milestone:

IEEE Organizational Unit(s) paying for milestone plaque(s):

Unit: North Jersey Section
Senior Officer Name: Hong Zhao, PhD

IEEE Organizational Unit(s) arranging the dedication ceremony:

Unit: North Jersey Section
Senior Officer Name: Hong Zhao, PhD

IEEE section(s) monitoring the plaque(s):

IEEE Section: North Jersey Section
IEEE Section Chair name: Hong Zhao, PhD

Milestone proposer(s):

Proposer name: Katherine Grace August, PhD
Proposer email: Proposer's email masked to public

Proposer name: Thomas M Willis, III PhD
Proposer email: Proposer's email masked to public

Proposer name: Theodore Sizer, II PhD
Proposer email: Proposer's email masked to public

Proposer name: Mathini Sellathurai, PhD
Proposer email: Proposer's email masked to public

Please note: your email address and contact information will be masked on the website for privacy reasons. Only IEEE History Center Staff will be able to view the email address.

Street address(es) and GPS coordinates in decimal form of the intended milestone plaque site(s):

600 Mountain Avenue, Murray Hill, NJ  07974   40.684031, -74.401783

Describe briefly the intended site(s) of the milestone plaque(s). The intended site(s) must have a direct connection with the achievement (e.g. where developed, invented, tested, demonstrated, installed, or operated, etc.). A museum where a device or example of the technology is displayed, or the university where the inventor studied, are not, in themselves, sufficient connection for a milestone plaque.

Please give the address(es) of the plaque site(s) (GPS coordinates if you have them). Also please give the details of the mounting, i.e. on the outside of the building, in the ground floor entrance hall, on a plinth on the grounds, etc. If visitors to the plaque site will need to go through security, or make an appointment, please give the contact information visitors will need. Intention is to have the plaque just outside the main entrance to the Nokia Bell Labs facility in Murray Hill, NJ.  Is both a corporate building and an Historic Site as other historical markers from IEEE are already on site both inside and outside the building. 

Are the original buildings extant?

Yes.

Details of the plaque mounting:

Outside the building on a rock or other permanent structure.

How is the site protected/secured, and in what ways is it accessible to the public?

The plaque will be placed outside prior to entering the building and thus there is no need to pass through security.

Who is the present owner of the site(s)?

Nokia Bell Labs.

What is the historical significance of the work (its technological, scientific, or social importance)? If personal names are included in citation, include detailed support at the end of this section preceded by "Justification for Inclusion of Name(s)". (see section 6 of Milestone Guidelines)

The invention of optical tweezers by Arthur Ashkin in 1983 marked a pivotal moment in the history of physics and biology. This groundbreaking technique, using focused laser beams to manipulate microscopic objects, revolutionized the study of biological systems at the nanoscale. Prior to optical tweezers, researchers lacked the tools to directly observe and manipulate individual molecules and cells without invasive methods. Optical tweezers enabled scientists to measure the forces generated by single molecules, like motor proteins, and to study their dynamics in real-time. This opened up new avenues for understanding fundamental biological processes, such as DNA replication, protein folding, and cell motility. The ability to trap and manipulate living cells non-invasively revolutionized cell biology, allowing researchers to study cell mechanics, interactions, and responses to stimuli.

What obstacles (technical, political, geographic) needed to be overcome?

The  use of light to apply force and then control microscopic objects was new and novel at the time so a significant obstacle was to understand the physics of light applied.  Some of this was done as part of the Atomic Trapping experiments championed by Steve Chu for which he received the Nobel Prize in 1997, while the additional engineering obstacles associated with true manipulation of objects was performed by Art Ashkin.  Among other problems was that Art wished to manipulate living cells and thus a significant obstacle was the choice of power and wavelength of the light used needed to be determined so not to damage the cell  under test through light absorption (and thus heating) of the cell itself.

What features set this work apart from similar achievements?

This is the first known manipulation of biological objects through the use of light, for which Arthur Ashkin received the Nobel Prize in 2018. Steven Chu was awarded the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work in developing methods to cool and trap atoms using laser light.

Why was the achievement successful and impactful?

Arthur Ashkin envisioned that lasers from multiple directions to control the location of tiny objects. This groundbreaking discovery sparked a global scientific pursuit to confine microscopic objects, from atoms and molecules to later, tiny living organisms. Optical traps, and in particular optical tweezers, have become powerful tools in biology, chemistry, medicine, and physics, enabling non-destructive exploration of the mechanics of life and fundamental physical processes.

Supporting texts and citations to establish the dates, location, and importance of the achievement: Minimum of five (5), but as many as needed to support the milestone, such as patents, contemporary newspaper articles, journal articles, or chapters in scholarly books. 'Scholarly' is defined as peer-reviewed, with references, and published. You must supply the texts or excerpts themselves, not just the references. At least one of the references must be from a scholarly book or journal article. All supporting materials must be in English, or accompanied by an English translation.

Ashkin, A.  "Acceleration and Traping of Particles by Radiation Pressure", Phys Rev Lett.  V24, #4, 26 Jan 1970; pp156-159 Ashkin, A., Dziedzic, J.M. Bjorkholm, J.E., Chu S. "Observation of a single beam gradient force optical trap for dielectric particles" Optics Lett. V11, #5, May 1986; pp288-290 Ashkin, A., Nobel Prize Lecture 2018 Ashkin, A.  "Trapping of Atoms by Resonance Radiation Pressure", v40, #12, 20 March 1978; pp729-732 Ashkin, A. and Gordon, J.P.; "Stability of radiation-pressure particle traps:  an optical Earnshaw theorem"  Opt. Lett. V8, #10, October 1983 pp511-513

Supporting materials (supported formats: GIF, JPEG, PNG, PDF, DOC): All supporting materials must be in English, or if not in English, accompanied by an English translation. You must supply the texts or excerpts themselves, not just the references. For documents that are copyright-encumbered, or which you do not have rights to post, email the documents themselves to ieee-history@ieee.org. Please see the Milestone Program Guidelines for more information.

Please email a jpeg or PDF a letter in English, or with English translation, from the site owner(s) giving permission to place IEEE milestone plaque on the property, and a letter (or forwarded email) from the appropriate Section Chair supporting the Milestone application to ieee-history@ieee.org with the subject line "Attention: Milestone Administrator." Note that there are multiple texts of the letter depending on whether an IEEE organizational unit other than the section will be paying for the plaque(s).

Please recommend reviewers by emailing their names and email addresses to ieee-history@ieee.org. Please include the docket number and brief title of your proposal in the subject line of all emails.