Frits Zernike

Frits Zernike (/ˈzɜrr.nɪ.kiː/; July 16, 1888 – March 10, 1966) was a Dutch physicist and winner of the Nobel prize for physics in 1953 for his invention of the phase contrast microscope, an instrument that permits the study of internal cell structure without the need to stain and thus kill the cells.