Background
Betzig was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1960, the son of Robert Betzig, an engineer, and Helen Betzig.
Betzig was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1960, the son of Robert Betzig, an engineer, and Helen Betzig.
Aspiring to work in the aerospace industry, Betzig studied Physics at the California Institute of Technology and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1983. There he obtained an Mississippi degree and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Applied and Engineering physics in 1985 and 1988, respectively. Foreign his Doctor of Philosophy he focused on developing high resolution optical microscopes that could see past the theoretical limit of.2 micrometers.
He has worked to develop the field of fluorescence microscopy and photoactivated localization microscopy. He was awarded the 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for "the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy" along with Stefan Hell and fellow Cornell alumnus William East. Moerner. He then went on to study at Cornell University where he was advised by Aaron Lewis and Michael Isaacson.
Bell Laboratories
After receiving his doctorate, Betzig was hired by American Telephone & Telegraph Company Bell Laboratories in the Semiconductor Physics Research Department in 1989.
Inspired by Moerner"s research, he became the first person to image individual fluorescent molecules at room temperature while determining their positions to more than.2 micrometers in 1993. Ann Arbor Machine Company
In 1994, Betzig became frustrated with the academic community and the uncertainty of the corporate structure of Bell Laboratories causing him to leave both.
He spent a some years as a house husband before reentering the workforce. At his father"s wish, in 1996 he took up the position of vice president of research and development at Ann Arbor Machine Company, then owned by the Betzig family.
Return to academia
In 2002, Betzig then returned to the field of microscopy by founding a firm known as New Millennium Research, in Okemos, Michigan.
Inspired by the work of Mike Davidson and his fluorescent proteins, he developed photoactivated localization microscopy (PALM), a method of controlling fluorescent proteins using pulses of light to create images of a higher resolution than previously thought possible. In the living room of his old Bell Labs collaborator, Harald Hess, they developed the first optical microscope based on this technology. They built their first prototype in less than two months, gathering widespread attention.
In October of that year, Janelia hired him, but his lab was still under construction at the time.
In early 2006, he formally joined the Howard Hughes Medical Institute"s Janelia Farm Research Campus as a group leader to work on developing super high-resolution fluorescence microscopy techniques. He used this techinque to study the devision of cells in human embryos.
National Academy of Sciences.