Nanotechnology

Michael Köhler is Professor of Physical Chemistry and Micro-reaction Technology at the Technical University of Ilmenau, Germany, since 2001 and at the same time Visiting Scientist at the Institute for Physical High Technology (IPHT) in Jena, also Germany. His research work concerns chip-based reaction technology, with interests focusing around molecular nanotechnology such as biotechnical microprocesses and DNA nanoparticle adducts. He studied chemistry in Halle an der Saale and Jena, obtaining his diploma in 1981. After completing his Ph.D. on electrochemical effects in microlithography, he worked from 1986 to 1990 as project leader at the Institute of Physical Technology of the Academy of Sciences of the GDR, researching into submicrometre lithography. After the reunification of Germany, he visited the Max Planck Institute of Nutritional Physiology in Dortmund. In 1991, he returned to Jena to join the IPHT as group leader for microstructuring, taking over the department for microsystem technology in 1994. Parallel to these appointments, in 1992 he completed his habilitation in general and physical chemistry, giving lectures as Wuppertal University and serving from 1993 on as lecturer at the Friedrich-Schiller Universität in Jena for microlithography, microsystem technology and nanotechnology. Wollfgang Fritzsche heads the Biotechnical Microsystems Department at the Institute for Physical High Technology (IPHT) in Jena, Germany, since 2001. His research interests are molecular nanotechnology such as single molecule (DNA) characterization and manipulation, nanoparticle-DNA complexes, and bioanalytics. He obtained his diploma from the Friedrich-Schiller-University (FSU) Jena, then went on to research work on AFM of DNA-protein complexes at the Max-Planck-Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, receiving his Ph.D. degree in physical chemistry from the George-August-University in Göttingen. Dr. Fritzsche then left Germany for a postdoc position at Iowa State University, USA, working there from 1994 to 1996 on biological AFM and image processing. He returned to Jena to join the IPHT as researcher.