Siegfried Czapski Publication Prize 2023

The Siegfried Czapski Publication Prize for outstanding publications by doctoral candidates within the Jena Alliance of Graduate Schools was awarded for the second time on November 27 as part of the LIFE Symposium. The winners are the doctoral candidates Wilhelm Eschen and Chang Liu from the Institute of Applied Physics (IAP) at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, who received the prize for their outstanding publication in the journal PhotoniX on visualizing the ultra-structure of microorganisms using table-top extreme ultraviolet imaging.

The publication by Chang Liu and Wilhelm Eschen convinced the jury in particular with the development of an innovative ptychographic microscopy method in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) range, which enables high-resolution subcellular imaging at the nanoscale with a compact table-top device in the laboratory. Until now, large infrastructures such as synchrotons were required for this type of experiment. By combining compact plasma-based sources, computational imaging and innovative techniques such as the nanoscale composition extraction from ptychographic images, Chang Liu and Wilhelm Eschen provide unique insights into the elemental composition of biological samples.

The underlying interdisciplinary collaboration between the Fiberlaser / X-ray imaging group at the Institute of Applied Physics (IAP) and the Evolution of Microbial Interactions group at the Leibniz-HKI thus forms a successful interface between the university profile lines LIGHT and LIFE with excellent application possibilities, e.g. clinical questions, in the future.

This prize, funded by the Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung, is endowed with 2,000 euros.

Publication: Liu, C., Eschen, W., Loetgering, L. et al. Visualizing the ultra-structure of microorganisms using table-top extreme ultraviolet imaging. PhotoniX 4, 6 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s43074-023-00084-6