[3dem] Marc Adrian

[Jacques Dubochet]

Dear friends and colleagues, 

I am sad to inform you that Marc Adrian died recently in his home in Burgundy.

Marc is the one who, after Alasdaire McDowall discovered how water can be vitrified for electron microscopy, found in 1982-3 that the best specimens are obtained just by blotting away a drop of suspension from a bare grid (later from a perforated supporting films) before letting it fall into liquid ethane. He is also the one who, among a bunch of people putting their pride in only taking micrographs very close to Scherzer's focus, found that  wild defocus makes beautifully visible things that should not be. There is more. 
Marc was a free, creative and generous human being of wide-ranging culture. 
We worked together for 23 years. It was a beautiful time. I am deeply thankful to Marc.
Remember him the next time you use the "Adrian" method. 
I address my sincere condolences to his wife Josiane and his son Gilles. 

Jacques Dubochet
Honorary professor in biophysics
DEE, Biophore, 3203
University of Lausanne
CH-1015-Lausanne
Jacques.Dubochet at unil.ch


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