Deutsche Gesellschaft für Elektronenmikroskopie(eingetragener Verein)
http://www.dge-homepage.de
DGE / The President

President:

Press Release
June 17th, 2011

Exec Secretary:

Treasurer:

Bank account:Prof. Dr. Reinhard RachelCentre for EM, Institute for Anatomy
University of Regensburg
D-93053 Regensburg, Germany
Tel.: 0941 943 2837, Fax: 0941 943 2868
E-Mail: reinhard.rachel@biologie.uni-regensburg.de
Dr. Thomas Gemming
IFW Dresden
PF 270116, D – 01171 Dresden, Germany
Tel.: 0351 4659 298, Fax: 351 4659 9298
E-Mail: t.gemming@ifw-dresden.deDr. Wilfried Sigle
Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems
Heisenbergstr. 3, D – 70569 Stuttgart, Germany
Tel.: 0711 689 3525, Fax: 0711 689 3522
E-Mail: sigle@mf.mpg.dePostbank Essen
Konto Nr.: 75697-432, Bankleitzahl: 360 100 43

17 June 2011

Cutting-edge Research using the Electron Microscope: Ernst Ruska Price 2011 for
Researchers from Belgium and USA
Dr. Johan Verbeeck, Physicist from Antwerp (Belgium), and Prof. Dr. David Mastronarde, Cell
Biologist from Boulder, Colorado (USA), will receive the Ernst Ruska Price 2011 of theDeutsche Gesellschaft für Elektronenmikroskopie (DGE; German Society for ElectronMicroscopy), for their achievements in the field of Electron Microscopy, a research area thatwas initiated by the Nobel Prize Laureate Ernst Ruska. The Prize will be awarded on theMicroscopy Conference in Kiel, Germany, on August 31st 2011, by Prof. Dr. Reinhard Rachel,from the University of Regensburg.

Although the two price winners work in two totally different areas, what they have in common is their keeninterest in elucidating fine structures of materials under the electron microscope in as much detail as possible.
Electron microscopes were initially invented and built in the 1930's by Ernst Ruska, Nobel Prize Laureate in1986 for Physics, but their ultimate potential has not yet been fully exploited. In order to encourage anddistinguish new developments in this field, the Ernst Ruska Price is awarded every two years by the DGE.
Johan Verbeeck, physicist at the University of Antwerp (Belgium) developed a new method for thequantitative evaluation of energy losses by electrons interacting with matter. Analyses of electron energy
losses make it possible to investigate the chemical composition of matter ultimately on an atomic scale, andalso to characterize the bonding of atoms. The new method developed by Johan Verbeeck permits
quantitative and unbiased data analysis. In addition, he recently demonstrated that it is possible to manipulate
electron beams to follow a spiral path, known as vortex. Such electron waves are a new powerful tool that
could be used to investigate magnetic structure in new storage devices, or to manipulate single atoms.
David Mastronarde, Professor at the Department of Molecular-, Cell- and Developmental Biology at theUniversity of Boulder (Colorado, USA) has been developing new electron tomography programs for manyyears. The programs facilitate the fully automatic generation of serial images from pre-defined angles, as wellas enable the three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction and analysis of an object. The basics of some of thesealgorithms were already known from computer tomography (using X-rays), but as such not suitable forelectron tomography: they needed to be adjusted comprehensively and fine-tuned in many important parts.
David Mastronarde developed and wrote many new tools and modules. The program packages are availablefor free for different platforms and have found wide acclaim among specialists. As for other open platforms,
the further development of the program modules is a two-way process between the developers in Boulder anda continually increasing number of users in a web-based forum.
The Prize-Winners:
Dr. Johan Verbeeck studied engineering, and finished his PhD in physics in Antwerp, Belgium, in 2002. After
spending some time at the Technical University of Vienna, Austria (2006-2007) and at the University ofBremen in 2008, he is now working at the Electron Microscopy Centre for Material Science at the University ofAntwerp, Belgium.
Prof. Dr. David Mastronarde did his bachelor in chemistry, mathematics and physics at the University ofAmherst (USA). Later, he worked at the University of Boulder (Co, USA) in the field of the physiology of vision.
In 1988, he finished his PhD in Biology and Neurophysiology. Since then, he is employed at the Boulder
Laboratory for 3D Electron Microscopy of Cells. In 1995, he was appointed associate professor, and since2001, he is Full Professor and co-director of this institute.
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Elektronenmikroskopie e.V. (German Society for Electron Microscopy)
It is the aim of the DGE to support and advance electron microscopy and related scientific methods in basic
research, in engineering, and in companies. The society offers support for all members, by organizing
advanced training, scientific conferences, and facilitating international cooperation. The DGE was founded in1949 in Düsseldorf, Germany, among others by Prof. Ernst Ruska, Prof. Ernst Brüche, and Prof. Bodo vonBorries, three pioneers in the field.
The DGE has 650 members and organizes a national scientific meeting every two years. Since 1985, theseconferences are organized every four years jointly with the corresponding societies from Austria andSwitzerland, known as "Dreiländertagung Elektronenmikroskopie" (three-country electron microscopy
conference).
Every two years, the DGE awards the Ernst Ruska Price, and in addition a sponsorship award for a young
scientist, and a technology award. These prizes are awarded to the recipients at the bi-annual scientificmeetings. This year's conference will take place in Kiel, Germany, from August 28th until September 2nd, 2011.
The Microscopy Conference 2011 is jointly organized by the Scandinavian Society for Microscopy SCANDEM,
the Polish Society for Microscopy, and scientists from the Baltic countries and St. Petersburg (Russia).
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Reinhard Rachel, President of the DGE e.V., University of Regensburg, Universitätsstr. 31, D-93053
Regensburg, Tel. +49 941 943 2837; e-mail: reinhard.rachel@biologie.uni-regensburg.de
Dr. Thomas Gemming, Executive Secretary of the DGE e.V., IFW Dresden, Helmholtzstrasse. 20, D-01069
Dresden, Tel. +49 351 4659-298; e-mail t.gemming@ifw-dresden.deProf. Dr. Reinhard Rachel / President of the DGE e.V.