Robert Wolkow

Robert Wolkow has made seminal contributions to the field of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). He performed the first atomic-scale study of a surface reaction, initiating a new field. He developed the first tunable temperature cryogenic STM and with it determined the structure of Si(l 00), solving a classic problem. He was first to capture the dynamics of silicon atoms settling in to epitaxial positions on a silicon surface. His direct observation of a precursor to chemical bond formation is a breakthrough. He has determined the absolute chirality of individual molecules. His work has substantially advanced the field of organic-silicon interfaces.