X-Ray Visionary

Some scientific breakthroughs are so profound that they change human knowledge and technology as we know it: Ernest Rutherford’s atomic model in 1911, Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin in 1928, Vera Rubin’s observation of dark matter in 1978. In 2023, Saw Wai Hla (opens in a new window), a professor in the College of Arts and Science (opens in a new window)’s Department of Physics and Astronomy (opens in a new window) and scientist at Argonne National Laboratory (opens in a new window), joined the ranks of such noteworthy scientists. His achievement? The ability to detect a single atom via X-ray.

This remarkable feat—an effort more than 12 years in the making—is both a triumph of cutting-edge technology and a glimpse into a future where understanding the atomic scale could revolutionize industries, enhance scientific accuracy and change lives in ways we cannot yet imagine.

Hla and his team of physicists and chemists, including Ph.D. candidates at OHIO, first published their extraordinary findings in the scientific journal Nature (opens in a new window) in 2023. Since then, news of their success has rippled through the scientific community worldwide, placing Ohio University front and center in headlines about humanity’s capacity for innovation.

“We can now detect exactly the type of a particular atom, one atom at a time, and can simultaneously measure its chemical state,” explains Hla, who is also the director of the Nanoscale and Quantum Phenomena Institute (opens in a new window) at Ohio University. “This discovery will transform the world.”

Revolutionizing Disease Care

The potential impact of this transformative advancement on the field of medicine—including diagnoses, personalized treatment and new drug development—is difficult to overstate.

Imagine if cancer could be detected at its earliest, most treatable stage, not through invasive biopsies but examining a small sample of a patient’s cells, one atom at a time. Current medical imaging techniques like CT scans and MRIs, though invaluable, are not capable of providing the resolution needed to observe sample tissue at the atomic level. New technologies developed from Hla’s innovation could lead to diagnostic and monitoring tools that are faster, more accurate and more accessible to patients across the globe.

This breakthrough could lead to a new era in pharmaceutical development as well. With an atomic-level understanding of how molecules interact, Hla explains, pharmaceutical researchers could develop drugs that are more effective at targeting disease, with fewer side effects.

A similarly granular approach can be imagined for the surging trend of personalized medicine. With the tools to peer behind a patient’s symptoms at the building blocks of health issues, a doctor could prescribe medications and therapies customized to an individual’s molecular makeup.

Driving Scientific Discovery

Detecting a single atom via X-ray imaging holds immense potential for a variety of fields beyond medicine. The ability to observe and understand atomic structures in unprecedented detail could lead to the creation of next-generation materials with properties we can’t yet fully imagine. For instance, the design of stronger, more lightweight materials could fuel revolutionary advancements in industries like aerospace, construction and electronics.

According to Hla, many rare-earth materials are used in everyday devices, such as cell phones and computers, and are extremely important in creating and advancing technology. Because his discovery enables scientists to identify both an element’s type and its chemical state, they will be able to better manipulate the atoms that make up different materials to meet ever-changing needs in various fields.

As if that weren’t enough, Hla and his team have also developed a new method of interpreting data about electrons in a molecule, which can have enormous impact in the field of quantum physics. This new avenue for studying the behavior of matter at the most fundamental level will provide deeper insight into everything from superconductivity—a vital component of research for high-speed trains and computer chips alike—to the mysteries of dark matter, offering fresh perspectives on some of science’s most enduring questions.

“Scale is very important in science, as it allows for comparative analysis from macro to nano levels,” says Eric Muth, the University’s new vice president for research and creative activity. “Dr. Hla’s discovery puts a new tool in the science toolbox to utilize X-rays to study scale at the single atom level, opening the door to new applications and discovery.”

Seeing the Unseeable

Since German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen discovered the X-ray in 1895, X-ray imaging has been commonplace. It’s used in everything from medical examinations to security screenings in airports. Even Curiosity, NASA’s Mars rover, has used an X-ray device to learn that the material composition of rocks on Mars is surprisingly similar to volcanic soil in Hawaii.

Until recently, though, X-ray analysis of materials has been limited to those for which scientists can obtain samples of roughly one billionth of a billionth of a gram, which equates to about 10,000 atoms. How small is that, really? Start with a gram, which is about the weight of a paperclip. One billionth of that is a nanogram, about the weight of the average cell in a human body. Divide that by 1 billion, and you have your 10,000 atoms. Put another way: A sample of 10,000 hydrogen atoms is about one thousandth of the size of the period at the end of this sentence. That’s miniscule, to be sure, and yet this limitation has presented significant challenges in the field of nanotechnology.

Until now.

Most of Hla’s research over the last 30-odd years has taken place at the intersection of physics and nanotech, where he has focused on understanding materials’ chemical and physical properties at their fundamental level—that is, the atomic level. Prior to his team’s X-ray discovery, a tool called a scanning probe microscope could “see” individual atoms by scanning surfaces with an ultra-fine tip, but even that technology had a significant flaw: It couldn’t identify the composition of those atoms.

“X-ray beams are used everywhere, but since the discovery of X-rays in 1895, scientists have not been able to use them to detect and analyze just one atom. It has been a dream of scientists to be able to do so for decades,” Hla says. “Now, we can.”

His breakthrough hinges on the development of an ultra-sensitive X-ray detector, paired with advanced computational techniques that can isolate and capture the atomic features of materials. What makes Hla’s work particularly revolutionary is the combination of X-rays’ power to penetrate matter with the ability to identify and resolve the presence of a single atom—something never before achieved with this method.

A Groundbreaking Achievement

Hla has been recognized for his revolutionary approach by being named the 2024 Falling Walls Science Breakthrough of the Year Laureate (opens in a new window) for Physical Sciences. This prestigious accolade (opens in a new window) recognizes his trailblazing contributions to science and innovation. Hla has also been awarded the 2024 Feynman Prize for Nanotechnology (opens in a new window) by the Foresight Institute (opens in a new window) in recognition of his sustained contribution to research in molecular machines and molecular nanotechnology. Five of his achievements over the last decade were used for the Feynman Prize selection.

“It is an incredible honor to be recognized among the top scientists globally,” Hla says. “This acknowledgment reflects the collective efforts of my team at Ohio University, Argonne National Laboratory and the support we have received from the broader scientific community. I am grateful for this recognition and excited about the potential impact of our work.”

While the impact of Hla’s discovery is still in its early stages, the foundation he’s built for research to come is transformative. The ability to detect a single atom using X-rays is sure to unlock a host of new research avenues and technological innovations, offering scientists new ways to observe and manipulate the building blocks of matter in pursuit of the answers to humankind’s most pressing questions.

Feature photo by Ben Wirtz Siegel, BSVC ’02