David A Muller
@davidamuller.bsky.social
"Learning more and more about less and less"
Materials Physics and Electron Microscopy at Cornell (he/him)
https://muller.research.engineering.cornell.edu/
Materials Physics and Electron Microscopy at Cornell (he/him)
https://muller.research.engineering.cornell.edu/
Pinned
David A Muller
@davidamuller.bsky.social
· Apr 23
Dose-Efficient Cryo-Electron Microscopy for Thick Samples using Tilt-Corrected Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy, Demonstrated on Cells and Single Particles
bioRxiv - the preprint server for biology, operated by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a research and educational institution
www.biorxiv.org
#cryoEM Lena and I started working on this project almost 10 years ago, with @ktspoth and then Yue taking data. Lena passed away before she could finish the paper, even as other groups were finding it very useful. With Yue and friends we finally got something out! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
And in the sequel it's CO2
Is it carbon monoxide
The villain of ‘SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY’ is described as “a powerful villain no one can even see.”
(via spidermanbrandnewday.movie/synopsis/)
(via spidermanbrandnewday.movie/synopsis/)
June 15, 2026 at 2:57 PM
And in the sequel it's CO2
Seeing Li ions at atomic resolution is hard, seeing the missing ones? Harder.
Dasol's electron ptychography now images Li vacancies in a battery cathode in 3D—atom column by atom column:
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
@pubs.acs.org 🧪⚛️
Dasol's electron ptychography now images Li vacancies in a battery cathode in 3D—atom column by atom column:
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
@pubs.acs.org 🧪⚛️
Atomic-Scale Imaging of Lithium Vacancies in a Battery Cathode by Multislice Electron Ptychography
Atomic-resolution imaging of battery materials is critical for identification of local defects and structural variations, which are tied to battery performance. However, since battery materials are, b...
pubs.acs.org
June 6, 2026 at 2:37 PM
Seeing Li ions at atomic resolution is hard, seeing the missing ones? Harder.
Dasol's electron ptychography now images Li vacancies in a battery cathode in 3D—atom column by atom column:
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
@pubs.acs.org 🧪⚛️
Dasol's electron ptychography now images Li vacancies in a battery cathode in 3D—atom column by atom column:
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
@pubs.acs.org 🧪⚛️
Cornell's cows are absolutely out standing in their fields right now (all 2,000+ acres). Maybe the NYT just forgot we are an ivy again?
In @nytopinion.nytimes.com
The problem on college campuses is not just that students lack civility, Michal Leibowitz writes, but that “our college education does almost nothing to develop the sense that what we do in our day-to-day lives resonates with people beyond ourselves.”
The problem on college campuses is not just that students lack civility, Michal Leibowitz writes, but that “our college education does almost nothing to develop the sense that what we do in our day-to-day lives resonates with people beyond ourselves.”
Opinion | A Cattle Ranch Is Doing What Ivy League Colleges Can’t
College education does almost nothing to develop the sense that what we do in our day-to-day lives resonates with people beyond ourselves.
nyti.ms
May 21, 2026 at 9:05 PM
Cornell's cows are absolutely out standing in their fields right now (all 2,000+ acres). Maybe the NYT just forgot we are an ivy again?
Reposted by David A Muller
Atomic‑scale nickel.
Zero precious metals.
Serious fuel‑cell power—thanks in part to CCMR tools
news.cornell.edu/stories/2026...
Zero precious metals.
Serious fuel‑cell power—thanks in part to CCMR tools
news.cornell.edu/stories/2026...
Nickel catalyst enables high-performance fuel cell free of precious metals | Cornell Chronicle
Cornell researchers have developed a non-precious-metal catalyst that represents a major step toward alkaline fuel cells that use inexpensive commodity metals, such as nickel and cobalt, in several en...
news.cornell.edu
March 26, 2026 at 8:06 PM
Atomic‑scale nickel.
Zero precious metals.
Serious fuel‑cell power—thanks in part to CCMR tools
news.cornell.edu/stories/2026...
Zero precious metals.
Serious fuel‑cell power—thanks in part to CCMR tools
news.cornell.edu/stories/2026...
@sciencex.bsky.social ex.bsky.social picked up our #ptychography paper on imaging the atomic-scale roughness in transistor channels in 3D, in a single scan and without having to tilt the sample. ⚛️
March 12, 2026 at 2:46 AM
@sciencex.bsky.social ex.bsky.social picked up our #ptychography paper on imaging the atomic-scale roughness in transistor channels in 3D, in a single scan and without having to tilt the sample. ⚛️
Reposted by David A Muller
Bluesky is the new science Twitter, new study by @whysharksmatter.bsky.social and Julia Wester concludes!
"Results show that for every reported professional benefit that scientists once gained from Twitter, scientists can now gain that benefit more effectively on Bluesky than on Twitter."
"Results show that for every reported professional benefit that scientists once gained from Twitter, scientists can now gain that benefit more effectively on Bluesky than on Twitter."
Scientists no Longer Find Twitter Professionally Useful, and have Switched to Bluesky
Synopsis. Social media has become widely used by the scientific community for a variety of professional uses, including networking and public outreach. For
academic.oup.com
February 13, 2026 at 10:08 PM
Bluesky is the new science Twitter, new study by @whysharksmatter.bsky.social and Julia Wester concludes!
"Results show that for every reported professional benefit that scientists once gained from Twitter, scientists can now gain that benefit more effectively on Bluesky than on Twitter."
"Results show that for every reported professional benefit that scientists once gained from Twitter, scientists can now gain that benefit more effectively on Bluesky than on Twitter."
The offical citation is
"For developing a new generation of electron detectors and reconstruction algorithms leading to the highest resolution electron microscope."
www.nae.edu/345149/NAENe...
or as a friend joked "the academy award goes to David for the best picture"
🧪 ⚛️ #NAE
"For developing a new generation of electron detectors and reconstruction algorithms leading to the highest resolution electron microscope."
www.nae.edu/345149/NAENe...
or as a friend joked "the academy award goes to David for the best picture"
🧪 ⚛️ #NAE
February 11, 2026 at 4:52 AM
The offical citation is
"For developing a new generation of electron detectors and reconstruction algorithms leading to the highest resolution electron microscope."
www.nae.edu/345149/NAENe...
or as a friend joked "the academy award goes to David for the best picture"
🧪 ⚛️ #NAE
"For developing a new generation of electron detectors and reconstruction algorithms leading to the highest resolution electron microscope."
www.nae.edu/345149/NAENe...
or as a friend joked "the academy award goes to David for the best picture"
🧪 ⚛️ #NAE
Given the weather today, it’s time to repost my favorite phase diagram: Nakaya’s snow crystal morphology. We are towards the bottom right today. 🧪 ⚛️ #cryoEM
January 25, 2026 at 1:49 PM
Given the weather today, it’s time to repost my favorite phase diagram: Nakaya’s snow crystal morphology. We are towards the bottom right today. 🧪 ⚛️ #cryoEM
And this is when Bluesky became the old twitter
This is true and I was the only one on set excited about it (and playing the song on my phone to blank stares)
Just watched the new Knives Out and I think it's really important you know that the scene in the Seminary's Gym is filmed in the same place Rick Astley filmed the music video for Never Gonna Give You Up.
I saw the window tracery and immediately made my friends pause the film so I could tell them.
I saw the window tracery and immediately made my friends pause the film so I could tell them.
December 30, 2025 at 6:13 AM
And this is when Bluesky became the old twitter
While Cornell has field theorists, we also have practitioners
November 10, 2025 at 7:45 PM
While Cornell has field theorists, we also have practitioners
Imaging hydrogen atoms with ptychography
Hydrogen, the universe’s most abundant atom, is also the hardest to see in solids. Using electron ptychography, we directly reveals hydrogen’s hidden structures inside metals, as reported in our JACS paper (pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...).
@davidamuller.bsky.social
@jacs.acspublications.org
@davidamuller.bsky.social
@jacs.acspublications.org
October 10, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Imaging hydrogen atoms with ptychography
Jim West's group taught us everything we know about building ultra-quiet rooms
SPARK sighting at @possible-futures.bsky.social!
Less than two weeks till it's available at a bookstore near you!
Share the story of Jim West and his invention of the microphone we all use today on Zoom, phones 🎤
Preorder here: bit.ly/SPARKbk
#WomeninSTEM 🧪
#SciArt
#Booksky
#Science
#Blacksky
Less than two weeks till it's available at a bookstore near you!
Share the story of Jim West and his invention of the microphone we all use today on Zoom, phones 🎤
Preorder here: bit.ly/SPARKbk
#WomeninSTEM 🧪
#SciArt
#Booksky
#Science
#Blacksky
October 8, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Jim West's group taught us everything we know about building ultra-quiet rooms
#cryoEM 🧪⚛️ Lena’s paper on imaging thick biological sections with STEM is finally published! We started this work almost 10 years ago. After Lena passed in 2023, I spent much of my sabbatical working with Yue and Steve to wrap this up. Also learned a lot about TEM vs STEM dose efficiency
Tilt-corrected bright-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (tcBF-STEM) offers enhanced contrast and dose efficiency for cryo-EM in thick biological specimens.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Dose-efficient cryo-electron microscopy for thick samples using tilt- corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy - Nature Methods
Tilt-corrected bright-field scanning transmission electron microscopy offers enhanced cryogenic electron microscopy contrast and substantial improvement in dose efficiency for thick samples such as bacterial cells and large organelles, while still being able to perform single-particle analysis.
www.nature.com
September 24, 2025 at 7:36 AM
#cryoEM 🧪⚛️ Lena’s paper on imaging thick biological sections with STEM is finally published! We started this work almost 10 years ago. After Lena passed in 2023, I spent much of my sabbatical working with Yue and Steve to wrap this up. Also learned a lot about TEM vs STEM dose efficiency
Some good news 🧪⚛️
August 28, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Some good news 🧪⚛️
Our new zippy ptychography code, PtyRAD is now out in print. 3D Multislice reconstructions that used to take a day, now can be done in about an hour!
🧪⚛️ #ptycho
paper and install links:
academic.oup.com/mam/article/...
🧪⚛️ #ptycho
paper and install links:
academic.oup.com/mam/article/...
PtyRAD: A High-Performance and Flexible Ptychographic Reconstruction Framework with Automatic Differentiation
Abstract. Electron ptychography has recently achieved unprecedented resolution, offering valuable insights across diverse material systems, including in th
academic.oup.com
August 5, 2025 at 5:02 PM
Our new zippy ptychography code, PtyRAD is now out in print. 3D Multislice reconstructions that used to take a day, now can be done in about an hour!
🧪⚛️ #ptycho
paper and install links:
academic.oup.com/mam/article/...
🧪⚛️ #ptycho
paper and install links:
academic.oup.com/mam/article/...
Our hands-on workshop on Electron #Ptychography ! ⚛️🧪 using our new fast python code starts tomorrow, Tuesday, July 8. Lecture Schedule is below, for folks who want to listen in on-line. We hope to post the tutorial and code walk through videos later.
cornell.zoom.us/j/9512638476...
cornell.zoom.us/j/9512638476...
July 8, 2025 at 4:19 AM
Our hands-on workshop on Electron #Ptychography ! ⚛️🧪 using our new fast python code starts tomorrow, Tuesday, July 8. Lecture Schedule is below, for folks who want to listen in on-line. We hope to post the tutorial and code walk through videos later.
cornell.zoom.us/j/9512638476...
cornell.zoom.us/j/9512638476...
Reposted by David A Muller
This is fantastic, do read it.
July 4, 2025 at 5:10 PM
This is fantastic, do read it.
Took a break and conducted some pier review last week. 12/10
July 1, 2025 at 6:34 AM
Took a break and conducted some pier review last week. 12/10
Reposted by David A Muller
One of my favorite things is seeing how publishers around the world reinterpret covers for foreign language editions of our books. The Alchemy of Us is being published in Korean. A side by side comparison -- same great content, totally different vibe.
November 25, 2024 at 8:44 PM
One of my favorite things is seeing how publishers around the world reinterpret covers for foreign language editions of our books. The Alchemy of Us is being published in Korean. A side by side comparison -- same great content, totally different vibe.
Celebrating Hari’s thesis defense with a NaNbO3-themed cake. It is layered in 3D to match his paper rdcu.be/eiV0u
June 16, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Celebrating Hari’s thesis defense with a NaNbO3-themed cake. It is layered in 3D to match his paper rdcu.be/eiV0u
Reposted by David A Muller
The end of US leadership in science, technology, and innovation.
All in one little table.
A tremendous gift to China, courtesy of the GOP.
nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/files/00-NSF...
All in one little table.
A tremendous gift to China, courtesy of the GOP.
nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/files/00-NSF...
May 30, 2025 at 9:26 PM
The end of US leadership in science, technology, and innovation.
All in one little table.
A tremendous gift to China, courtesy of the GOP.
nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/files/00-NSF...
All in one little table.
A tremendous gift to China, courtesy of the GOP.
nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/files/00-NSF...
Danielle was one of Lena’s students 🧪
Revealing the Crystalline Architecture of Semicrystalline Ion Exchange Membranes for the Design of Conductive and Durable Alkaline Anion Exchange Membranes pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40415331/ #cryoem
May 28, 2025 at 5:02 AM
Danielle was one of Lena’s students 🧪
So the crazy thing here is the company this is supposed to be about is Corning. The company famous for its glass research. And the across the board metric is a measure of how similar individual atom positions are in their CRYSTAL structures. So much is nuts here, but that should have been a red flag
May 17, 2025 at 1:16 PM
So the crazy thing here is the company this is supposed to be about is Corning. The company famous for its glass research. And the across the board metric is a measure of how similar individual atom positions are in their CRYSTAL structures. So much is nuts here, but that should have been a red flag
Reposted by David A Muller
Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune
May 7, 2025 at 2:01 AM
Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune