Percy Zahl

Dr. Percy Zahl is a Senior Staff Scientist at Brookhaven National Laboratory's Center for Functional Nanomaterials, specializing in Interface Sciences/Catalysis. With over two decades of experience, he leads the Low Temperature (LT) STM and NC-AFM/HR-AFM facility, providing world-class expertise in high-resolution imaging and experimental services. He is the lead developer of the open-source GXSM software since 2000, a globally used platform for scanning probe microscopy.

• Education:
  • 1995-1996: Diplom Thesis in Physics, Leibniz University Hannover
  • 1996-2000: Ph.D. in Physics, Leibniz University Hannover

Research Interests span surface science, epitaxy, scanning probe microscopy (STM/AFM), and instrumentation R&D. His work focuses on atomic-scale imaging, graphene nanoribbons, molecular binding phenomena, and AI-assisted microscopy. He explores quantum transport, spintronics, and low-temperature techniques.

Scientific Impact includes the 2012 George T. Hanyo Award (AVS) for his contributions to open-source microscopy software. His publications cover graphene synthesis, molecular electronics, and nanoscale force quantification, with over 20 articles from 2025-2022 alone.