Stuart Lindsay

Stuart Martin Lindsay (born 3 July 1951) is a British-American physicist at Arizona State University (ASU).^[1][2] He holds joint appointments in the School of Molecular Sciences and the Department of Physics, and is a University Professor - ASU's highest faculty rank.^[1][2] He served as founding director of the Center for Single Molecule Biophysics at ASU's Biodesign Institute from 2002 to 2025.^[1][3]

Lindsay's research bridges nanoscience and biophysics, with contributions to scanning probe microscopy and single-molecule biophysics. He produced the first scanning tunneling microscope (STM) images of DNA in aqueous solution (1989)^[4] and for pioneering reproducible measurements of single-molecule conductance (2001), foundational to the field of molecular electronics.^[5][6]

He co-founded Molecular Imaging Corporation (1993), acquired by Agilent Technologies in 2005,^[7] and also founded Recognition Analytix LLC (2013).^[1][8]

Lindsay holds 64 U.S. patents.^[9] As of November 2025, he has 257 peer-reviewed publications, more than 35,000 citations, and an h-index of 90.^[10]

Lindsay was born on 3 July 1951 in London, England.^[2][11] He earned a BSc in physics (first class honours) in 1972, a Diploma in Advanced Studies (with distinction) in 1973, and a PhD in physics in 1976, all from the University of Manchester.^[2][1]

After his PhD, Lindsay consulted for Philips Industries in London (1977–1979) before joining ASU as an assistant professor in 1979. He advanced to associate professor (1984), full professor (1989), Regents' Professor (2008), and University Professor (2014).^[1][11] He founded ASU's biophysics program and directed the Center for Single Molecule Biophysics from 2002 to 2025.^[3][6]

In 1993, he co-founded Molecular Imaging Corporation with Tianwei Jing; it was acquired by Agilent in 2005.^[7][2] In 2013, he co-founded Recognition Analytix LLC, which developed recognition tunneling for DNA/protein sequencing.^[1][8] Lindsay served on the editorial board of Biophysical Journal (2002–2009) and as associate editor of Ultramicroscopy (1995–2015).^[11]

Lindsay's early work in high-resolution optical spectroscopy included developing multipass Fabry–Pérot interferometer systems for polymer dynamics.^[12]

He pioneered liquid-phase atomic force microscopy (AFM) with magnetically oscillated probes^[13] and single-molecule recognition imaging.^[14] His 1989 Science paper showed the first STM images of the DNA double helix in water.^[4]

Using AFM, his lab demonstrated that centromeric nucleosomes in Drosophila are tetramers, not octamers.^[15] His 2001 Science paper on single-molecule conductance is a landmark in molecular electronics.^[5]

Later work includes recognition tunneling for sequencing, carbon nanotube nanofluidics, and protein-based electronics.^[16]

Lindsay was elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors in 2014.^[11] His honors include:

• Fellow, American Physical Society (1990)^[11]
• Humboldt Senior Scientist Research Award (1993)^[11]
• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (2003)^[11]
• R&D 100 Award (shared, for molecular recognition imaging) (undated in sources, listed post-2003)^[11]
• ASU Faculty Distinguished Achievement Award (2007)^[11]
• Regents' Professor (2008)^[11]
• Fellow, Institute of Physics (UK) (2011)^[11]
• Fellow, National Academy of Inventors (2014)^[11]

Lindsay became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1984.^[11][2] He has been married to Christine (née Gunstone) since 1971.^[11] They reside in Phoenix, Arizona, and have three daughters and six grandchildren.^[11]

• Lindsay, Stuart (2009). Introduction to Nanoscience. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-954421-9.
• Lindsay, S. M.; Thundat, T.; Nagahara, L.; Knipping, U.; Rill, R. L. (1989). "Images of the DNA Double Helix in Water". Science. 244 (4908): 1063–1064. Bibcode:1989Sci...244.1063L. doi:10.1126/science.2727694. PMID 2727694.
• Cui, X. D.; Primak, A.; Zarate, X.; Tomfohr, J.; Sankey, O. F.; Moore, A. L.; Moore, T. A.; Gust, D.; Harris, G.; Lindsay, S. M. (2001). "Reproducible Measurement of Single-Molecule Conductivity". Science. 294 (5542): 571–574. Bibcode:2001Sci...294..571C. doi:10.1126/science.1064354. PMID 11641492.

• Molecular electronics
• Atomic force microscopy

• ASU profile
• Stuart Lindsay publications indexed by Google Scholar
• Oral history interview with Stuart Lindsay