Milestone-Proposal:Super Resolved Microscopy

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Docket #:2024-09

This proposal has been submitted for review.

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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

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Year or range of years in which the achievement occurred:

1992

Title of the proposed milestone:

Super Resolved Microscopy

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.

For the development of the technique of super-resolved fluorescence Microscopy and the first to image individual fluorescent molecules.

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 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Eric Betzig, Stefan W. Hell, and William E. Moerner for their groundbreaking work in developing super-resolved fluorescence microscopy. This revolutionary technology overcame the diffraction limit of light, which had previously restricted optical microscopes to a resolution of about 200 nanometers.Betzig developed methods based on single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM), where fluorescent molecules are switched on and off, allowing their positions to be determined with nanometer precision. These techniques have revolutionized biological imaging, enabling scientists to visualize structures and processes within cells at unprecedented detail. Super-resolved fluorescence microscopy has opened up new avenues for research in fields such as neuroscience, cell biology, and materials science, providing invaluable insights into the fundamental workings of life.

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

Solid-State Circuits , Electron Devices

In what IEEE section(s) does it reside?

North Jersey

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

IEEE Organizational Unit(s) arranging the dedication ceremony:

Unit: North Jersey Section
Senior Officer Name: Hong Zhao

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

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

Milestone proposer(s):

Proposer name: Theodore Sizer
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):

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. It is both a corporate building and a Historic Site as other historical markers 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 prior to entering the building and thus visitors do not need to pass through security.

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

Nokia America

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 first time imaging was possible beyond the diffraction limit, able to image individual molecules. Recognized with the Nobel Prize in 2014

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

The fundamental obstacle (and achievement) was how to be able to image beyond the diffraction limit of imaging. The technique to modulate the light from the subject was a key innovation towards this goal.

What features set this work apart from similar achievements?

Significant imaging resolution as recognized by the Nobel Prize in 2014. This work has since been employed for numerous biological studies, imaging molecules directly.

Why was the achievement successful and impactful?

Novel techniques were invented to modulate the fluorescent molecules enabling imaging beyond the diffraction limit.

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.

Harris T. D. et al., "Super-Resolution Imaging Spectroscopy" Applied Spectroscopy, v. 48, no 1, 1994 pp 14A-21A
Betzig, Eric; Chichester, Robert J. (November 26, 1993). "Single Molecules Observed by Near-Field Scanning Optical Microscopy". Science. 262 (5138): 1422–1425.
Betzig, Eric; Trautman, Jay K. (July 10, 1992). "Near-Field Optics: Microscopy, Spectroscopy, and Surface Modification Beyond the Diffraction Limit". Science. 257 (5067): 189–195.
Betzig, E; Trautman, J.K.; Harris, T.D.; Weiner,J.S. "Breaking the Diffraction Barrier: Optical Microscopy on a Nanometric Scale" Science 251 (5000)1468
Nobel Lecture "Single Molecules, Cells, and Super-Resolution Optics", December 8, 2014

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.