[1] Monika Ritsch-Marte was raised in the Austrian province of Vorarlberg, graduated in 1980 from grammar school in Bregenz, and earned a physics diploma from the University of Innsbruck in 1984.
Some extended research visits abroad (Helsinki, JILA/Boulder, Konstanz) fall into this period, as well as half a year at the Universita degli Studi di Milano in the group of Luigi Lugiato supported by an APART grant from the Austrian Academy of Sciences.
Her research group has pioneered new usages for spatial light modulators (SLM) in the form of liquid-crystal displays to optical microscopy.
[citation needed] This dual-beam approach is suitable to trap and guide swimming microorganisms such as Euglena without inducing any optical damage.
[citation needed] Ritsch-Marte and her colleague Stefan Bernet hold several patents (e.g. spiral-phase contrast microscopy or a diffractive Moiré lens with tunable refraction index).