Allan MacLeod Cormack facts for kids

Allan MacLeod Cormack (born February 23, 1924 – died May 7, 1998) was a smart physicist from South Africa and later the United States. He is famous for his important work on X-ray computed tomography (CT). This amazing technology helps doctors see inside the human body.

In 1979, he won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries. He shared this big award with another scientist named Godfrey Hounsfield.

Early Life and School

Allan Cormack was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. He went to Rondebosch Boys' High School in Cape Town. There, he enjoyed debating and playing tennis.

He studied physics at the University of Cape Town. He earned his first degree (B.Sc.) in 1944. A year later, in 1945, he got his master's degree (M.Sc.) in crystallography from the same university.

From 1947 to 1949, he was a student at Cambridge University in England. While at Cambridge, he met Barbara Seavey, who was also a physics student from America. She later became his wife.

His Career and Discoveries

After getting married, Allan Cormack went back to the University of Cape Town in 1950. He worked there as a lecturer, teaching students.

In 1956-1957, he took a break and worked at Harvard in the United States. After this, he and his wife decided to move to America for good. In 1957, Cormack became a professor at Tufts University. He became a citizen of the United States in 1966.

Even though he mostly studied particle physics, Cormack had a special interest in X-ray technology. This side interest led him to create the main ideas for CT scanning. He started this work in 1956 at the University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital. He continued it briefly in 1957 after returning from Harvard.

He published his findings in two science papers in 1963 and 1964. At first, not many people paid attention to his work. But then, in 1971, Godfrey Hounsfield and his team built the very first CT scanner. They used Cormack's ideas to make it work in real life.

Cormack and Hounsfield worked separately, but they both came up with similar ideas for the CT scanner. For their amazing efforts, they shared the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Cormack was also a member of the International Academy of Science. In 1990, he received another important award, the National Medal of Science.

His Later Years

Allan Cormack passed away from cancer in Winchester, Massachusetts, when he was 74 years old.

After his death, on December 10, 2002, he was given the Order of Mapungubwe. This is a very high honor in South Africa. He received it for his outstanding work as a scientist and for helping to invent the CT scanner.

See also

In Spanish: Allan McLeod Cormack para niños