Ernst Bauer Student Presentation Awards

Ernst G. Bauer – Biography
 

Career

    Ernst G. Bauer was born in Germany on February 27, 1928. He studied physics at the

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, where he received his M.S. degree in 1953 and his

Ph.D. degree in 1955.

    In 1958, Bauer moved to the United States and joined the Michelson Laboratory at China

Lake, California, where he later became Head of the Crystal Physics Branch and subsequently

a U.S. citizen. During this period, he established himself as one of the leading scientists in the

emerging field of surface physics and thin-film science.

    In 1969, Bauer returned to Germany to become Professor and Director of the Physics

Institute at the Technical University of Clausthal. There, he developed one of the worldʼs

leading research centers in surface science and electron microscopy.

    He later joined Arizona State University in the United States, where he served as

Distinguished Research Professor and continued advancing surface microscopy and electron

imaging science. He currently holds the title of Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus at

Arizona State University.

    Over the course of his career, Professor Bauer authored more than 470 scientific

publications and several influential books, including Surface Microscopy with Low Energy

Electrons . He received numerous prestigious honors, including the Gaede Prize, the Medard

W. Welch Award, the Davisson‒Germer Prize, the Humboldt Research Prize, and honorary

doctorates from several universities. He is also a Fellow of the American Physical Society and

the American Vacuum Society.

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Scientific Achievements

    Professor Bauer made pioneering contributions to surface science, thin-film physics, and

electron microscopy that fundamentally transformed modern materials research.

    In the 1950s, he carried out seminal studies of epitaxial growth and electron diffraction. In

1958, he introduced the now universally adopted classification of thin-film growth mode –– Frank‒van der Merwe, Volmer‒Weber, and Stranski‒Krastanov growth –– providing the

theoretical foundation for modern epitaxy and thin-film science.

    While working at China Lake in the early 1960s, Bauer recognized the importance of

directly imaging surfaces with low-energy electrons and proposed the concept of Low Energy

Electron Microscopy (LEEM) in 1962. After overcoming major technical challenges over

more than two decades, the first practical LEEM instruments became operational in the 1980s.

LEEM enabled, for the first time, real-space and real-time observation of dynamic surface phenomena such as crystal growth, phase transitions, sublimation, and epitaxy with

nanometer-scale resolution.

    Building upon LEEM, Bauer further pioneered Spin-Polarized Low Energy Electron

Microscopy (SPLEEM) and Spectroscopic Photoemission and Low Energy Electron

Microscopy (SPELEEM), extending electron microscopy to include magnetic, chemical, and

electronic imaging capabilities at the nanoscale.

    The LEEM/PEEM methodologies originating from Bauerʼs work have since evolved into

indispensable tools across a broad range of scientific and industrial fields. Today, they are

extensively applied in semiconductor research and manufacturing, operando materials

characterization, catalysis, quantum and magnetic materials studies, energy materials science,

and biological and biomedical imaging. Modern synchrotron-based PEEM systems and

advanced laboratory LEEM instruments continue to build upon Bauerʼs original concepts,

demonstrating the lasting impact of his vision on both fundamental science and advanced

technology.

    Professor Bauerʼs pioneering achievements continue to inspire generations of researchers

in surface science, microscopy, nanotechnology, and semiconductor industry worldwide.