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Richard R. Ernst

Swiss physical chemist and Nobel laureate (1933-2021) · Switzerland · Scientists · Died at 87

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He called himself a "tool-maker," but the tools were Fourier transform NMR spectroscopy and the physics that made MRI possible - work that won him the 1991 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and reshaped how we see molecules and the human body.

ScientistsScientistChemistrySwitzerlandEurope20th Century

A life in dates

2021Died4 June 20211999Honorary Doctorate from University of Montpellier-IIAward1997Honorary Doctor of the University of AntwerpAward1993Foreign Member of the Royal SocietyAward1991Louisa Gross Horwitz PrizeAwardNobel Prize in ChemistryAwardWolf Prize in ChemistryAward1985Marcel Benoist PrizeAward1933Born14 August 1933

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

Richard R. Ernst 1980s (cropped)Richard R. Ernst 1980s (cropped)Nobel laureate ernstNobel laureate ernstRichard R ErnstRichard R ErnstRichard R. Ernst 1980s (headshot)Richard R. Ernst 1980s (headshot)Richard R. Ernst 1980sRichard R. Ernst 1980sRichard R. Ernst ca. 1980 (cropped)Richard R. Ernst ca. 1980 (cropped)Richard R. Ernst ca. 1980Richard R. Ernst ca. 1980ScienceanddharmaScienceanddharma

Awards

Honorary Doctorate from University of Montpellier-II1999
Honorary Doctor of the University of Antwerp1997
Foreign Member of the Royal Society1993
Nobel Prize in Chemistry1991
Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize1991
Wolf Prize in Chemistry1991
Marcel Benoist Prize1985
Commander of the Order of the Star of Romania
Honorary Doctor of Babeș-Bolyai University
Fellow of the Bangladesh Academy of Science
Honorary Doctor of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

About this person

Richard Robert Ernst was a Swiss physical chemist born 14 August 1933. While working at Varian Associates and later at ETH Zurich, he developed the techniques underpinning Fourier transform nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy - advances that revolutionized chemical analysis and laid the groundwork for magnetic resonance imaging in medicine. The Nobel committee awarded him the Prize in Chemistry in 1991 for those contributions. He died 4 June 2021, having spent a career building instruments that let others see what had been invisible.

Country
Switzerland
Category
Scientists
Type
Scientist
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1933 to 2021 · aged 87

In common with Richard

Isamu AkasakiBoth received Honorary Doctorate from University of Montpellier-IIKlaus von KlitzingBoth received Honorary Doctorate from University of Montpellier-IILeo EsakiBoth received Honorary Doctorate from University of Montpellier-IIGeorge Andrew OlahBoth received Honorary Doctorate from University of Montpellier-IIDavid GrossBoth received Honorary Doctorate from University of Montpellier-IIRobert Bruce MerrifieldBoth received Honorary Doctorate from University of Montpellier-II

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