World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!

D-Index & Metrics

Chemistry

D-Index
102
Citations
42226
World Ranking
1148
National Ranking
455

Physics

D-Index
104
Citations
46261
World Ranking
1430
National Ranking
750

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2015 - SPIE Fellow
  • 2014 - Nobel Prize for the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy
  • 2013 - Peter Debye Award, American Chemical Society (ACS)
  • 2008 - Wolf Prize in Chemistry, Wolf Foundation for the ingenious creation of a new field of science, single molecule spectroscopy and electrochemistry, with impact at the nanoscopic regime, from the molecular and cellular domain to complex material systems.
  • 2007 - Member of the National Academy of Sciences
  • 2003 - Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
  • 2001 - Earle K. Plyler Prize for Molecular Spectroscopy, American Physical Society
  • 2001 - Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • 1992 - Fellow of American Physical Society (APS) Citation For contributions to highresolution laser spectroscopy of solids, including the first demonstration of singlemolecule detection in solids

Overview

W. E. Moerner is affiliated with Stanford University in the United States. Their primary research interests span the fields of biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology, and engineering, with substantial work in molecular biology, biophysics, biomedical engineering, structural biology, and electrical and electronic engineering.

The scientist's work focuses on a range of topics related to advanced microscopy and molecular techniques. Main topics include:

  • Advanced Fluorescence Microscopy Techniques
  • Advanced Electron Microscopy Techniques and Applications
  • Microfluidic and Bio-sensing Technologies
  • Bacteriophages and microbial interactions
  • Microfluidic and Capillary Electrophoresis Applications
  • Bacterial Genetics and Biotechnology
  • Photosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms

Moerner has published extensively in journals such as the Biophysical Journal, bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Nature Communications, and The Journal of Physical Chemistry B. Publication venues with frequent appearances include:

  • Biophysical Journal (16 publications)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (13 publications)
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (4 publications)
  • Nature Communications (3 publications)
  • The Journal of Physical Chemistry B (3 publications)

Recent noteworthy papers authored or coauthored by Moerner include:

  • "Super-resolution Microscopy with Single Molecules in Biology and Beyond-Essentials, Current Trends, and Future Challenges," 2020, Journal of the American Chemical Society
  • "Genome-wide CRISPR screens reveal a specific ligand for the glycan-binding immune checkpoint receptor Siglec-7," 2021, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
  • "Selective sequestration of signalling proteins in a membraneless organelle reinforces the spatial regulation of asymmetry in Caulobacter crescentus," 2020, Nature Microbiology
  • "Cryogenic single-molecule fluorescence annotations for electron tomography reveal in situ organization of key proteins in Caulobacter," 2020, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
  • "Deep learning in single-molecule microscopy: fundamentals, caveats, and recent developments [Invited]," 2020, Biomedical Optics Express

Frequent collaborators include Peter D. Dahlberg, Davis Perez, Anish R. Roy, Lucy Shapiro, and Saumya Saurabh.

W. E. Moerner's research contributions have been recognized through various awards and honors, including the Nobel Prize in 2014 for the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy. Other accolades include:

  • SPIE Fellow (2015)
  • Peter Debye Award, American Chemical Society (ACS) (2013)
  • Wolf Prize in Chemistry, Wolf Foundation (2008), for pioneering the field of single molecule spectroscopy and electrochemistry
  • Membership in the National Academy of Sciences (2007)
  • Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (2003)
  • Earle K. Plyler Prize for Molecular Spectroscopy, American Physical Society (2001)
  • Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2001)
  • Fellow of American Physical Society (APS) (1992), cited for contributions to high-resolution laser spectroscopy of solids and first demonstration of single-molecule detection in solids

Best Publications

  • Large single-molecule fluorescence enhancements produced by a bowtie nanoantenna

    Anika A. Kinkhabwala;Zongfu Yu;Shanhui Fan;Yuri Avlasevich

  • Introduction to photorefractive nonlinear optics

    Pochi Yeh;W. E. Moerner

  • Optical detection and spectroscopy of single molecules in a solid

    William E. Moerner;Lothar Kador

  • On/off blinking and switching behaviour of single molecules of green fluorescent protein

    Robert M. Dickson;Andrew B. Cubitt;Roger Y. Tsien;W. E. Moerner

  • Illuminating single molecules in condensed matter.

    W. E. Moerner;Michel Orrit

  • Three-dimensional single-molecule fluorescence imaging beyond the diffraction limit using a double-helix point spread function

    Rafael Piestun;Sri Rama Prasanna Pavani;Michael A. Thompson;Julie S. Biteen

  • Improving the Mismatch between Light and Nanoscale Objects with Gold Bowtie Nanoantennas

    P. J. Schuck;D. P. Fromm;A. Sundaramurthy;G. S. Kino

  • Methods of single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy and microscopy

    W. E. Moerner;David P. Fromm

  • Polymeric photorefractive materials

    W. E. Moerner;Scott M. Silence

  • Single photons on demand from a single molecule at room temperature

    B. Lounis;W. E. Moerner

  • Persistent Spectral Hole-Burning: Science and Applications

    William E. Moerner

  • Photon antibunching in the fluorescence of a single dye molecule trapped in a solid

    Th. Basché;W. E. Moerner;M. Orrit;H. Talon

  • Observation of the photorefractive effect in a polymer.

    Stephen Ducharme;J. C. Scott;R. J. Twieg;W. E. Moerner

  • Gap-Dependent Optical Coupling of Single “Bowtie” Nanoantennas Resonant in the Visible

    David P. Fromm;Arvind Sundaramurthy;P. James Schuck;Gordon Kino

  • Orientationally enhanced photorefractive effect in polymers

    W. E. Moerner;S. M. Silence;F. Hache;Gary C. Bjorklund

  • Organic photorefractives: mechanisms, materials, and applications.

    Oksana Ostroverkhova;W. E. Moerner

  • New directions in single-molecule imaging and analysis

    W. E. Moerner

  • A Dozen Years of Single-Molecule Spectroscopy in Physics, Chemistry, and Biophysics

    W. E. Moerner

  • Three-Dimensional Localization of Single Molecules for Super-Resolution Imaging and Single-Particle Tracking

    Alex von Diezmann;Yoav Shechtman;W. E. Moerner

  • Three-dimensional imaging of single molecules solvated in pores of poly(acrylamide) gels.

    Robert M. Dickson;David J. Norris;Yih-Lin Tzeng;W.E. Moerner

  • Photon antibunching in single CdSe/ZnS quantum dot fluorescence

    B. Lounis;B. Lounis;H.A. Bechtel;D. Gerion;P. Alivisatos

Frequent Co-Authors

Robert J. Twieg
Robert J. Twieg Kent State University
Lucy Shapiro
Lucy Shapiro Stanford University
Judith Frydman
Judith Frydman Stanford University
Stephen Ducharme
Stephen Ducharme University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Gordon S. Kino
Gordon S. Kino Stanford University
Brahim Lounis
Brahim Lounis University of Bordeaux
Rafael Piestun
Rafael Piestun University of Colorado Boulder
Soichi Wakatsuki
Soichi Wakatsuki Stanford University
Robert M. Dickson
Robert M. Dickson Georgia Institute of Technology
Michel Orrit
Michel Orrit Leiden University

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