Albert Overhauser

Albert W. Overhauser was an American physicist and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He is best known for his theory of the Overhauser effect in nuclear magnetic resonance. The Overhauser effect was the first example of dynamic nuclear polarization whereby spin polarization is transferred from unpaired electrons in paramagnetic metals to nuclei resulting in a dramatic increase in their NMR intensity. The Nuclear Overhauser Effect, which follows the same mechanism, is also widely used in nuclear magnetic resonance and formed the basis for early protein structure determinations, for which Kurt Wüthrich was ultimately awarded the Nobel prize in Chemistry.