Georges (Jerzy) Nomarski (January 6, 1919 – 1997) was a Polish physicist and optics theoretician. Creator of

differential interference contrast Differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy, also known as Nomarski interference contrast (NIC) or Nomarski microscopy, is an optical microscopy technique used to enhance the contrast in unstained, transparent samples. DIC works on the p ...

(DIC) microscopy, the method is widely used to study live biological specimens and unstained tissues and in many languages bears his name.

Biography

Born in

Nowy Targ Nowy Targ (Officially: ''Royal Free city of Nowy Targ'', Yiddish: ''Naymark'', Goral Dialect: ''Miasto'') is a town in southern Poland, in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is located in the Orava-Nowy Targ Basin at the foot of the Gorce Mount ...

, Nomarski was educated in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

at the

Warsaw University of Technology The Warsaw University of Technology ( pl, Politechnika Warszawska, lit=Varsovian Polytechnic) is one of the leading institutes of technology in Poland and one of the largest in Central Europe. It employs 2,453 teaching faculty, with 357 professor ...

(known at that time as the ''Warsaw Polytechnic'') and served in the Polish Resistance during World War II. Captured by

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

forces, he was a prisoner of war until March 1945. After the war when the

Soviets Soviet people ( rus, сове́тский наро́д, r=sovyétsky naród), or citizens of the USSR ( rus, гра́ждане СССР, grázhdanye SSSR), was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union. Nationality policy in th ...

supported communists installed their regime over

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, Nomarski had to escape to Belgium as a political refugee. He studied there briefly before he moved to France for his permanent residence in 1947. He finished his education in France and received his diploma from l'Ecole Supérieure d'Optique Paris (Grande Ecole). In 1950, Nomarski established the ''Laboratoire de Microscopie Optique de L'Institut d'Optique'' and became a professor of microscopy and head of the department at his alma mater. He simultaneously conducted research at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), where the physicist rose to the Directorship of Research by 1965.

Honors

*Fellow of the Optical Society of America (1972) *Honorary Fellow by the Royal Microscopical Society *Member of the

Polish Society of Arts and Sciences Abroad Polish Society of Arts and Sciences Abroad (PTNO, pl, Polskie Towarzystwo Naukowe na Obczyźnie) is a Polish learned society located in London in the Polish Social and Cultural Association building. It was established in 1948 and its aim is to rep ...

*Abbe Medal recipient *

SPIE Gold Medal SPIE Gold Medal, or Gold Medal Award of SPIE, is the highest honor of SPIE (the international society for optics and photonics), and is considered one of the highest award in the fields of photonic and optical engineering and related instrumental ...

(1995)

External links

Georges (Jerzy) Nomarski
1919 births 1997 deaths 20th-century Polish physicists Fellows of the Royal Microscopical Society Polish emigrants to France {{Poland-bio-stub

Biography

Honors

See also

External links