Nobel Prize researcher credits early ONR support

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

11-Dec-2014

Contact: Peter Vietti onrpublicaffairs@navy.mil 703-696-5031 Office of Naval Research

Two decades ago, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) helped Dr. W.E. Moerner in his quest to find "a molecule in a haystack," work that is transforming the field of medicine and has earned the Stanford University professor the 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, which he received Dec. 10.

Moerner's work has informed a new generation of scientists and created new possibilities in microbiology for disease management and drug development that could aid in the fight against Alzheimer's and other diseases.

"Dr. Moerner is the latest in a long line of Nobel Prize winners that have had key research sponsored by ONR," said Dr. Walter F. Jones, ONR executive director. "Like the others, his discoveries and breakthroughs have implications for both the Navy and society at large."

ONR sponsored Moerner with a series of grants between 1982 and 1992 when the current Stanford professor was with IBM and laying the foundation for the work that has now earned him a Nobel Prize. ONR's interest at the time was to develop techniques to observe atomic scale phenomena that would validate quantum mechanical theoretical predictions.

In essence, Moerner has been able to use techniques to turn the fluorescent lights of molecules on and off, using the glow to view living cells in the most intimate detail. In addition to being a breakthrough for microbiology, the research had an impact on quantum mechanics and has carried over into the world of nanoelectronics, where the Navy is investigating ways to develop more efficient and faster computing and communication devices.

Moerner has been quick to credit ONR and other federal agencies for funding his basic research. ONR's support allowed him to add a postdoctoral researcher to his otherwise one-man lab operation at the time.

"I cannot overstate the importance of federal funding for basic research from organizations such as ONR," Moerner said. "It is the lifeblood of fundamental science and contributes greatly to breakthroughs that benefit everyone."

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Nobel Prize researcher credits early ONR support