Thomas Ebbesen (born 30 January 1954) is a Franco-Norwegian

physical chemist Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mecha ...

and professor at the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

in France, known for his pioneering work in nanoscience. He received the

Kavli Prize The Kavli Prize was established in 2005 as a joint venture of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, and the Kavli Foundation (United States), Kavli Foundation. It honors, supports, and r ...

in Nanoscience “for transformative contributions to the field of nano-optics that have broken long-held beliefs about the limitations of the resolution limits of optical microscopy and imaging”, together with Stefan Hell, and Sir

John Pendry Sir John Brian Pendry, (born 4 July 1943) is an English theoretical physicist known for his research into metamaterials and creation of the first practical "Invisibility, Invisibility Cloak". He is a professor of theoretical solid state physics ...

in 2014.

Academic career

Thomas Ebbesen obtained his bachelor's degree from

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

, and a PhD from

Pierre and Marie Curie University Pierre and Marie Curie University ( , UPMC), also known as Paris VI, was a public research university in Paris, France, from 1971 to 2017. The university was located on the Jussieu Campus in the Latin Quarter of the 5th arrondissement of Paris, ...

in Paris in the field of photo-physical chemistry. He then worked at the Notre Dame Radiation Laboratory before joining the

NEC is a Japanese multinational information technology and electronics corporation, headquartered at the NEC Supertower in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It provides IT and network solutions, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Inte ...

Fundamental Research Laboratories in Japan in 1988 where his research shifted first to novel carbon materials such as

fullerene A fullerene is an allotropes of carbon, allotrope of carbon whose molecules consist of carbon atoms connected by single and double bonds so as to form a closed or partially closed mesh, with fused rings of five to six atoms. The molecules may ...

s (C₆₀),

graphene Graphene () is a carbon allotrope consisting of a Single-layer materials, single layer of atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice, honeycomb planar nanostructure. The name "graphene" is derived from "graphite" and the suffix -ene, indicating ...

and

carbon nanotube A carbon nanotube (CNT) is a tube made of carbon with a diameter in the nanometre range ( nanoscale). They are one of the allotropes of carbon. Two broad classes of carbon nanotubes are recognized: * ''Single-walled carbon nanotubes'' (''S ...

s. After discovering how to mass-produce carbon nanotubes, he and his colleagues measured many of their unique features such as their mechanical and wetting properties. For his pioneering and extensive contribution to the field of carbon nanotubes, he shared the 2001 Agilent Europhysics Prize with Sumio Iijima, Cees Dekker and Paul McEuen. While working at NEC, Ebbesen discovered a major new optical phenomenon. He found that, contrary to the then accepted theory, it was possible to transmit light extremely efficiently through subwavelength holes milled in opaque metal films under certain conditions. The phenomenon, known as extraordinary optical transmission, involves surface plasmons. It has raised fundamental questions and is finding applications in broad variety of areas from chemistry to opto-electronics. Ebbesen has received several awards for the discovery of the extraordinary optical transmission such as the 2005 France Telecom Prize of the

French Academy of Sciences The French Academy of Sciences (, ) is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French Scientific method, scientific research. It was at the forefron ...

and the 2009 Quantum Electronics and Optics Prize of the European Physical Society. In 1999, Thomas Ebbesen joined ISIS founded by

Jean-Marie Lehn Jean-Marie Lehn (born 30 September 1939) is a French chemist who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with Donald Cram and Charles Pedersen in 1987 for his synthesis of cryptands. Lehn was an early innovator in the field of supramo ...

at the

, which he headed from 2004 to 2012. In 2017–2018, he held the L. Bettencourt chair for Technological Innovation at the Collège de France. He is currently the director of the International Center for Frontier Research in Chemistry. and the University of Strasbourg Institute for Advanced Study. Since 2005 he has developed new field of research at the interface of quantum electrodynamics and physical chemistry. His team demonstrated for the first time that material properties such as chemical reactivity could be modified by strongly coupling the molecules to the electromagnetic fluctuations of an optical cavity. For this work he was awarded the 2018 Grand Prix of the Maison de la Chimie foundation. He is a member of the Institut Universitaire de France, the

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick University in Christiania was establis ...

, the

and the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Sciences and the Arts. In 2019, he is awarded the CNRS Gold medal in France

Personal life

He is married to the pianist Masako Hayashi-Ebbesen. They have two daughters.

Honors and awards

* NEC Research Prize 1992 * Randers Prize 2001 * Agilent Europhysics Prize 2001 * Prix France Telecom 2005 * Tomassoni Prize 2009 * Scola Physica Romana Medal 2009 * Quantum Electronics and Optics Prize 2009 * Dr. scient. h.c., University of Southern Denmark 2009 * Clarivate Citation laureate in Physics 2010 "for observation and explanation of the transmission of light through subwavelength holes, which ignited the field of surface plasmon photonics''."'' *

in Nanoscience 2014 * Prix Special of the French Physics Society, 2014 * Honorary Doctorate, Oberlin College, USA 2015 * Knight of the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

Doctor honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

on the occasion of the

KU Leuven KU Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. Founded in 1425, it is the oldest university in Belgium and the oldest university in the Low Countries. In addition to its mai ...

Patron Saint‘s Day 2018 * ''Quinquennial Anniversary Award'', European Materials Research Society 2018 * ''Grand prix de la fondation Maison de la Chimie'' 2018 * CNRS Gold medal 2019

References

External links

Thomas Ebbesen in Hyde Park Civilization on ČT24 3.12.2022 (moderator Daniel Stach)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ebbesen, Thomas 1954 births Living people Nanotechnologists Carbon scientists Oberlin College alumni Pierre and Marie Curie University alumni Norwegian physical chemists Members of the French Academy of Sciences Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters Norwegian expatriates in France Academic staff of the University of Strasbourg Knights of the Legion of Honour Kavli Prize laureates in Nanoscience