Humberto Fernández-Morán Villalobos (18 February 1924 – 17 March 1999)[1] was a Venezuela research scientist born in Maracaibo, Zulia, Venezuela, known for inventing the diamond knife or scalpel, significantly advancing the development of electromagnetic lenses for electron microscopy based on superconducting technology, and many other scientific contributions.

After flying over Angel Falls in his home country of Venezuela he was inspired by the concept of the smoothly reoccurring flow system inherent in a waterfall to take his diamond knife invention and combine it with an ultramicrotome to dramatically improve the ultra-thin sectioning of electron microscopy samples.

The ultramictrotome advances the rotating, drum-mounted specimen sample in such small increments (utilizing the very low thermal expansion coefficient of Invar) past the stationary diamond knife that sectioning thicknesses of several Angstrom units are possible.

[2] He was appointed Minister of Education during the last year of the regime of Marcos Pérez Jiménez and was forced to leave Venezuela when the dictatorship was overthrown in 1958.

The body of Humberto Fernández-Morán was cremated and his ashes rest today in Cemetery The Square Luxburg-Carolath in his hometown, Maracaibo.