From the World Science Festival in New York, IBM (NYSE: IBM) Fellow Dr. Donald M. Eigler was awarded the most prestigious honor in nanoscience, The Kavli Prize, sharing the honor with Nadrian Seeman, a professor at New York University.
Eigler, a scientist at IBM Research – Almaden in San Jose, Calif., is recognized with The 2010 Kavli Prize for the development of atom manipulation with the scanning tunneling microscope and for the elucidation and demonstration of quantum phenomena with precisely controlled atomic and molecular arrangements on surfaces. This seminal work laid the foundation for modern nanoscience.
Understanding the properties, movement and interaction of various materials at the nanoscale is essential for building smaller, faster and more energy-efficient processors and memory devices. In addition, this kind of understanding could also enable a whole new level of personalized health care and targeted treatments and therapies. Already, the ability to study and manipulate atoms is leading to new kinds of fabrics, products and more, in part due to Dr. Eigler's discovery.