Binnig, Gerd Karl (1947-...), a German physicist, helped to invent the scanning tunneling microscope (STM). This microscope can provide three-dimensional images of individual atoms. It has become an important research tool in physics, engineering, and chemistry and has played an important role in the development of miniaturized electronic circuits. Binnig was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize for physics and shared it with the Swiss scientist Heinrich Rohrer (see Rohrer, Heinrich).