In 1988 Dekker started his academic career as Assistant Professor at the University of Utrecht; in these years he also worked in the United States as Visiting Researcher at IBM Research. It was during this period that Dekker carried out research on magnetic spin systems and on noise in superconductors and semiconductors.
In 1993 he was appointed as Associate Professor at Delft University of Technology. In the mid-1990s Dekker and his team achieved success with the discovery of the electronic properties of carbon nanotubes, the first single-molecule transistor and other nanoscience.
Dekker has been awarded a number of national and international prizes, including the 2001 Agilent Europhysics Prize, the 2003 Spinozapremie,[2] the 2012 Nanoscience Prize, and the 2021 Nano Research Award.[3] He also was granted an honorary doctorate from Hasselt University, Belgium.
Dekker started his research on single carbon nanotubes in 1993 when he set up a new line of research to study electrical transport through single organic molecules between nanoelectrodes. In 1996 a breakthrough was realized with carbon nanotubes. This was achieved in a collaboration with the group of Nobel laureate Richard Smalley. STM and nanolithography techniques were used to demonstrate that these nanotubes are quantum wires at the single-molecule level, with outstanding physical properties. Many new phenomena were discovered, and he and his research group established a leading position in this field of research. Dekker and his research group discovered new physics of nanotubes as well as explored the feasibility of molecular electronics. In 1998, they were the first to build a transistor based on a single nanotube molecule.
Since 2000, Dekker has shifted the main focus of his work towards biophysics where he studies the properties of single biomolecules and cells using the tools of nanotechnology. This change of field was driven by his fascination for the remarkable functioning of biological molecular structures, as well as by the long-term perspective that many interesting discoveries can be expected in this field.[5] Current lines of research in his biophysics group are in the areas of:[6]
1988, first realization of a model two-dimensional spin glass and verification of its dynamics
1990s
1990, first measurement of quantum size effect in the noise of quantum point contacts
1991, demonstration of a new vortex-glass phase in high-temperature superconductors
1996, first mesoscopic charge density waves devices; and first electrical measurements on a single metal nanocluster between nanoelectrodes
1997, discovery that carbon nanotubes behave as quantum coherent molecular wires
1998, discovery that carbon nanotubes act as chirality-dependent.semiconductors or metals; and discovery of room-temperature transistors, made from a single nanotube molecule
1999, first measurement of the wavefunction of single molecular orbitals of carbon nanotubes; and discovery of kink heterojunctions of carbon nanotubes which gave decisive evidence for a new Luttinger description of interacting electrons in nanotubes
2000s
2000, discovery that nanotubes can carry extraordinary large current densities; resolved the controversial issue of electronic transport through DNA molecules by measurements of insulating behavior at the single molecule level; and demonstration of an AFM technique for single-molecule manipulation of nanotubes
2001, discovery of single-electron transistors at room temperature based on nanotubes; realization of first logic circuits with carbon nanotube devices; and discovery of the molecular structure of DNA repair enzymes with AFM
2002, exploration of new assembly routes with carbon nanotubes functionalized with DNA
2003, demonstrated the first biosensors made out of a carbon nanotube; resolved the structure and mechanism of DNA repair proteins; and discovery of a new technique for fabricating solid-state nanopores for DNA translocation
2004, discovery of new physics in translocation of DNA through nanopores; first experimental study of ions conduction in nanofluidic channels; first electrochemistry with individual single-wall carbon nanotubes; STM detection and control of phonons in carbon nanotubes; first electrical docking of microtubules on kinesin-coated nanostructures; first biophysics characterization of the mechanical properties of double-stranded RNA; and first single-molecule study of DNA translocation by a restriction-modification enzyme.
2005, discovery of the mechanism of DNA uncoiling by topoisomerase enzymes; discovery of long-range conformational changes in Mre11/DNA repair complexes; and first force measurements on a DNA molecule in a nanopore
2006, first demonstration of molecular sorting in a lab on a chip using biomotors; discovery of nanobubbles in solid-state nanopores; and first estimate of electrokinetic energy conversion in a nanofluidic channel
2007, first real-time detection of strand exchange in homologous recombination by RecA; discovery of a low persistence length of ends of microtubules; and resolved the mechanism of biosensing with carbon nanotubes
2008, first observation of protein-coated DNA translocation through nanopores; resolved the origin of the electrophoretic force on DNA in nanopores; discovered a significant velocity increase of microtubules in electric fields; discovered an anomalous electro-hydrodynamic orientation of microtubules; and resolved the origin of noise in carbon nanotubes in liquid
2009, discovery of a new phenotype for bacteria in narrow nanofluidic slits; and first detection of local protein structures along DNA using solid-state nanopores
2010s
2010, developed a new way (‘wedging transfer’) to manipulate nanostructures; first report of DNA translocation through graphene nanopores; and realized hybrid nanopores by directed insertion of α-hemolysin into solid-state nanopores
2011, first in vitro measurements of transport across a single biomimetic nuclear pore complex; development of multiplexed magnetic tweezers for kilo-molecule experiments; and resolved the mechanism of homology recognition in DNA homologous recombination
2012, discovery that nucleoid occlusion underlies the accuracy of bacterial cell division; and first ever study of the dynamics DNA supercoils and the discovery of supercoil hopping
2013, controlled shaping of live bacterial cells into arbitrary shapes; and discovery of spontaneous fluctuations in the handedness of histone tetrasomes
2014, first study of Min protein oscillations in shape-shifted bacteria
2015, discovery that condensin is a highly flexible protein structure; and first detection of DNA knots using nanopores
2018, first direct visual proof for DNA loop-extrusion by SMC proteins[7]
2019, first visualization of the circular chromosome of E coli bacteria.
2020s
2020, discovered a new type of loops in chromatin (Z loops)[8]
2021, developed a nanopore electro-osmotic trap for the label-free study of single proteins[9]
2021, demonstrated unlimited re-reading of single proteins using nanopore sequencing[10]
2022, showed nontopological DNA loop extrusion by the SMC passage of huge roadblocks[11]
2022, realized a nanoscale turbine built from DNA origami on a nanopore[12]
2023, developed a one-component division machinery for synthetic cells[13]
Other interests
Dekker is a Christian and active in the discussion about the relationship between science and religion, a topic on which he has co-edited several books.[14] In 2005 Dekker became involved in Netherlands-wide discussions about Intelligent Design, a movement that he has since clearly distanced himself from. Dekker advocates that science and religion are not in opposition but can be harmonized.
He wrote the foreword to the Dutch translation of ‘The Language of God' by Francis Collins, the former director of the National Institutes of Health. Like Collins, Dekker is a proponent of theistic evolution. He actively debates with creationists in the Netherlands.[15] In 2015 he co-wrote a children's book that explained an evolutionary creation to young children. This got translated in English as 'Science Geek Sam and his Secret Logbook'.[16] He also co-wrote 'Dawn: A Proton's Tale of All That Came to Be',[17] a book that combines the scientific narrative about the evolution of the cosmos with the Christiancreation story.
Reception
Dekker has more than 400 publications, including more than 30 papers in Nature and Science.[18][19] Thirteen of his group's publications have been cited more than 1000 times, and in 2001, his group work was selected as Breakthrough of the Year by the journal Science.
