Frank (Nobel Prize 2017) and colleagues developed a method that allows sorting of particle images into classes based on their orientation, as well as their structural features. Specifically Frank developed mathematical tools used for image analysis, which form the basis for single particle cryo-EM. He gathered them together in a suite of computer programs called “SPIDER”, making them readily available and useable for the scientific community.

Order of authorship in the original publication: Frank, Verschoor, Boublik.

(Thanks to Juan Weiss for this reference and its interpretation.)