In recognizing Gerhard the DPG comments, "His impressive results are a further step to make the world of atoms comprehensible."
In a prepared statement the DPG adds, "Meyer's work has inspired physicists, chemists and biologists alike. The results of his research have generated fascinating images of atoms and molecules that are now included in the textbooks and that illustrate the nano world for all to see."
About Gerhard
Gerhard studied physics in Hanover and achieved his doctorate in 1987. In addition to his first experiments with the scanning tunneling microscope, as a postdoctoral fellow at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, he also developed an optical readout technology, which has led to breakthroughs in scanning force microscopy.
Then he developed at the Free University of Berlin a low temperature scanning tunneling microscope, which is now used worldwide. After a two-year stay at the Paul Drude Institute in Berlin, he moved to Switzerland where he conducts research since 2002 at IBM Research in Rüschlikon.
Below is a video featuring some of Gerhard's recent work:
The last IBMers to receive the Prize are none other than Nobel Laureates J. Georg Bednorz and K. Alex Müller in 1987.