MechE Colloquium: The “Mechanical Microscope” – Pushing the Envelope of Atomic Force Microscopy with Mechatronics
Event details
| Date | 23.09.2025 |
| Hour | 12:00 › 13:00 |
| Speaker | Prof. Georg E. Fantner, STI, Laboratory for Bio- and Nano-Instrumentation; EPFL |
| Location | Online |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
| Event Language | English |
Abstract: Among all types of microscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) arguably interacts most directly with the sample. Through mechanical contact at the nanoscale, high resolution topographic images, mechanical-, electrical-, and magnetic-properties can be measured with incredible precision. This mechanical nature of the interaction, however, also governs the limitations of AFM in terms of resolution, speed, and robustness of operation. Therefore, improving the performance of AFM inherently requires improvements in mechanical engineering and mechatronics. In this presentation, I will show how we use new concepts in mechanical design, materials science, microfabrication and controls engineering to increase the AFM imaging speed by two orders of magnitude, extract multiparametric information from the samples, and develop new 3D imaging modalities. I will showcase the capabilities of this next generation atomic force microscopy with applications from nanoscale biology and materials science.
Biography: Prof. Georg E. Fantner received his MS degree from the University of Technology Graz in 2003, and his PhD degree from UC Santa Barbara in 2006. After a Postdoc in the biomolecular materials lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he joined the École Polytechnique Fédéral de Lausanne in 2010. He leads the laboratory for bio- and nano-instrumentation in the institute for bioengineering. His research, focusses on the development of new technologies to measure and manipulate nanoscale structures in general, and the development of atomic force microscopy instrumentation in particular. He applies these instruments to answer questions in a variety of fields ranging from materials science and nanotechnology to biology and life science. His interdisciplinary work has been published in many high impact journals such as Nature, Nature Materials, Nature Physics, Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Cell biology, Nature Microbiology, Nature Communications, Nano Letters, and Science, as well as featured in a number of popular science- and general-interest magazines. He serves as co- Editor-In -Chief for the journal Microsystem Technologies (Springer/Nature) and as scanning probe microscopy editor for Microscopy and Microanalysis. Prof. Fantner hold several patents in the field of nanotechnology and is the co-founder of two nanotechnology companies. Recently he has become active in the field of open hardware, where he explores new avenues to foster free academic exchange of knowledge, particularly for the development of highly sophisticated custom instruments. He serves as the president of the EPFL open science strategic committee and the ETH-domain open research data steering committee.
Biography: Prof. Georg E. Fantner received his MS degree from the University of Technology Graz in 2003, and his PhD degree from UC Santa Barbara in 2006. After a Postdoc in the biomolecular materials lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he joined the École Polytechnique Fédéral de Lausanne in 2010. He leads the laboratory for bio- and nano-instrumentation in the institute for bioengineering. His research, focusses on the development of new technologies to measure and manipulate nanoscale structures in general, and the development of atomic force microscopy instrumentation in particular. He applies these instruments to answer questions in a variety of fields ranging from materials science and nanotechnology to biology and life science. His interdisciplinary work has been published in many high impact journals such as Nature, Nature Materials, Nature Physics, Nature Nanotechnology, Nature Cell biology, Nature Microbiology, Nature Communications, Nano Letters, and Science, as well as featured in a number of popular science- and general-interest magazines. He serves as co- Editor-In -Chief for the journal Microsystem Technologies (Springer/Nature) and as scanning probe microscopy editor for Microscopy and Microanalysis. Prof. Fantner hold several patents in the field of nanotechnology and is the co-founder of two nanotechnology companies. Recently he has become active in the field of open hardware, where he explores new avenues to foster free academic exchange of knowledge, particularly for the development of highly sophisticated custom instruments. He serves as the president of the EPFL open science strategic committee and the ETH-domain open research data steering committee.
Practical information
- General public
- Free