Physicist Stefan Hell, who had his innovation at the University of Turku in the 1990s, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in autumn 2014. The 10th anniversary of the prize commemorated not only Hell's groundbreaking discovery, but also imaging expertise and research in Turku
Wednesday, 4 September 2024 marked the tenth anniversary of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry awarded to Professor Stefan Hell. The Nobel Prize was awarded for a super-resolution microscope developed by Hell in Turku in the 1990s, which exceeded the image resolution limit previously considered unbreakable. Hell has on several occasions thanked the University of Turku for its support in the early stages of his research.
Unfortunately, due to illness, Hell was unable to attend the event, but participated remotely in the ceremony in Alhopuro hall of Medisiina D, in which the Faculty of Medicine donated Hell's portrait to the University's collection. The portrait was received by Rector Marjo Kaartinen.
In her speech, Kaartinen thanked Hell for his important contribution to the development of imaging, but also for the example he set for the whole university research community.
“Professor Hell's achievement is a great source of inspiration for the researchers at the University of Turku," said Kaartinen.
Pekka Hänninen, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, donated the art photograph to the University's collections.
"The seemingly impossible should not be feared"
In his speech, Hell recalled the early stages of his research in Turku and the events leading up to it. He described how there seemed to be something special in the air before his discovery.
“In Turku, I had the feeling that something important was about to happen. The research and receiving funding were not easy, but I still feel like it was the best possible place I could be," Hell said.
Hell got the idea for a super-resolution microscope one Saturday, and was convinced that the idea would work. When he presented his idea to others, he encountered a lot of skepticism; it was common knowledge that the laws of physics prevented more detailed imaging. The first experiments also failed.
In his speech, he encouraged his audience to question what we know.
“Many ideas do not initially work in practice. But this should not mean that they should be underestimated – technical challenges can be overcome if the underlying idea works and you believe in it.”
He also thanked his colleague Pekka Hänninen from Turku for organising many practical aspects of the research and for his support in discussions and the constant flow of ideas, and Erkki Soini, who ran the laboratory, for his support.
In his speech, he stressed that despite the challenging research, his time in Turku was personally very happy.
Turku, European imaging capital
The Nobel celebrations also inspired an open event "From Imaging Nobel to AI future", jointly organised by the imaging organisations Turku BioImaging and Euro-BioImaging, the InFLAMES flagship and the Faculty of Medicine.
The event celebrated the 10th anniversary of the prize by putting the spotlight on modern imaging expertise in Turku and reflecting on future opportunities.
At the event, held at the Visitor Centre Joki, visitors were able to enjoy a multi-sensory exhibition on bioimaging and hear talks by Turku-based researchers presenting their research topics. The first presentation was given by Associate Professor Kirsi Virtanen from Turku PET Centre on brown fat research.
