American physicist (1979 – 2023)
Lena Fitting Kourkoutis (June 6, 1979 – June 24, 2023) was an American physicist working in the field of electron microscopy ,[ 1] and a professor of applied and engineering physics at Cornell University .[ 2] Her research focused on the use of aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope ,[ 3] [ 4] providing atomic resolution, at cryogenic temperatures (>77K) to study physical processes such as superconductivity [ 5] and biological structures such as proteins.[ 6]
Education and career [ edit ]
Kourkoutis received her Diplom in Physics from the University of Rostock , in Germany in 2003, and conducted her doctoral research at Cornell University , which she completed in 2009.[ 7] She then moved back to Germany as a Humboldt Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute in Martinsried between 2011 and 2012, before returning to Cornell University in 2013, first as a postdoctoral fellow, before joining the faculty.[ 8]
In 2016, Kourkoutis was named as one of the recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers .[ 9]
Kourkoutis died on June 24, 2023, aged 44, after a two-year battle with colon cancer .[ 10] A memorial statement is hosted at Cornell. [ 11]
^ Lena Kourkoutis – Cornell Research
^ Lena Kourkoutis – Cornell faculty directory
^ Seeing More with Cryo-STEM – Cornell Research
^ OFFICE HOURS | Professor Lena Kourkoutis Discusses Her Research - Sunspots - Cornell Daily Sun
^ El Baggari, Ismail; Savitzky, Benjamin H.; Admasu, Alemayehu S.; Kim, Jaewook; Cheong, Sang-Wook; Hovden, Robert; Kourkoutis, Lena F. (2018). "Nature and evolution of incommensurate charge order in manganites visualized with cryogenic scanning transmission electron microscopy" . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 115 (7): 1445–1450. arXiv :1708.08871 . Bibcode :2018PNAS..115.1445E . doi :10.1073/pnas.1714901115 . PMC 5816166 . PMID 29382750 .
^ Wiley Analytical Science website, Lena Kourkoutis: Resolution revolution , article dated August 6, 2015
^ a b Microanalysis Society website, In Memory of Lena Kourkoutis, Renowned Electron Microscopist and Mentor , article dated June 28, 2023
^ Oxford University Press website, Dr. Lena F. Kourkoutis (1979–2023): Pioneer and Modern Role Model , article by Cameron Varano Casasanta and Bev Maleeff, published in Microscopy Today, Volume 31, Issue 6, November 2023, page 36
^ a b Obama White House website, Archives section, President Obama Honors Extraordinary Early-Career Scientists , article dated February 18, 2016
^ Diane Tessaglia-Hymes: "Lena Kourkoutis, renowned electron microscopy expert, dies at 44." Cornell Chronicle , June 26, 2023, accessed June 26, 2023.
^ David Muller: memorial statement "Memorial Statement for Lena F. Kourkoutis who died in 2023."] Cornell University Faculty Memorial Statements , June 26, 2023, accessed June 26, 2023.
^ Cornell University website, Twelve faculty members elected AAAS fellows , article by Tom Fleishman dated January 31, 2023
^ "Fellows nominated in 2022" . APS Fellows archive . American Physical Society. Retrieved 2022-10-19 .
^ K. F. J Award 2020 K. F. J Award 2020 - Microanalysis Society
^ Microanalysis Society website, 2020 Lena Kourkoutis
^ President Obama Awards Early Career Honor to Cornell Scientists – Cornell University
^ Lena F. Kourkoutis, 2014 Fellow – The David and Lucile Packard Foundation