Paul Lauterbur facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Paul Lauterbur
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| Born | May 6, 1929 |
| Died | March 27, 2007 (aged 77) |
| Alma mater | Case Western Reserve University (BS), University of Pittsburgh (PhD) |
| Known for | Magnetic Resonance Imaging |
| Awards | Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2003) Kyoto Prize (1994) Bower Award (1990) IEEE Medal of Honor (1987) National Medal of Science (1987) Harvey Prize (1986) Potts Medal (1983) |
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| Institutions | Stony Brook University University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Mellon Institute of Industrial Research (now part of Carnegie Mellon University) |
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Paul Christian Lauterbur (born May 6, 1929 – died March 27, 2007) was an American chemist. He won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2003 with Peter Mansfield. They were honored for their important work that made magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) possible.
Lauterbur was a professor at Stony Brook University from 1963 to 1985. There, he did the research that led to the development of the MRI. In 1985, he moved to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with his wife, Joan. He worked there for 22 years until he passed away in Urbana. He loved working with students on research. He was a professor of chemistry and also taught in bioengineering, biophysics, and computational biology.
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Growing Up and Early Interests
Paul Lauterbur was born and grew up in Sidney, Ohio. His family had roots in Luxembourg. He went to Sidney High School, where a new science wing was later named after him.
As a teenager, Paul was very curious. He even built his own laboratory in his parents' basement! His chemistry teacher at school noticed his love for experiments. The teacher let him do his own projects in the back of the classroom.
In 1953, he joined the United States Army. He was sent to the Army Chemical Center in Maryland. His leaders let him work on an early nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) machine. By the time he left the Army, he had already published four science papers.
Education and Career Path
Paul Lauterbur earned his first science degree in industrial chemistry in 1951. He studied at the Case Institute of Technology, which is now part of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
After that, he worked at the Mellon Institute laboratories. He took a two-year break to serve in the Army. While working at Mellon Institute, he also studied chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh. He earned his PhD in 1962.
The next year, Lauterbur became a professor at Stony Brook University. He also spent a year (1969–1970) at Stanford University. There, he did more research on NMR with help from local companies. He returned to Stony Brook and stayed until 1985. Then, he moved to the University of Illinois.
How the MRI Was Developed
Paul Lauterbur said the idea for the MRI came to him during a meal. He was at a restaurant in Pittsburgh when he scribbled the first ideas for the MRI on a napkin. This happened while he was a student and researcher at the University of Pittsburgh and the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research. The main research that led to his Nobel Prize happened at Stony Brook University in the 1970s.
Understanding NMR and MRI
The Nobel Prize in Physics in 1952 went to Felix Bloch and Edward Purcell. They were honored for developing nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). This is the basic science behind MRI. For many years, NMR was used to study the chemical structure of different substances. But it wasn't until the 1970s, with Lauterbur's and Mansfield's work, that NMR could be used to create images of the human body.
Lauterbur used an idea from Robert Gabillard. He added gradients (changes) to the magnetic field. This helped figure out where radio waves were coming from inside an object. These waves are sent out by the nuclei (centers) of atoms. This special information allowed him to create two-dimensional pictures.
First MRI Images
When Lauterbur was working at Stony Brook, the best NMR machine was in the chemistry department. He had to use it at night for his experiments. He would carefully change the settings and then put them back for the chemists. The very first MRI machine is still at the Chemistry building at Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, New York.
Some of the first images Lauterbur took were of a tiny clam (4 mm wide) that his daughter found. He also imaged green peppers and two test tubes of heavy water inside a beaker of regular water. At that time, no other imaging method could tell the difference between two kinds of water. This was very important because the human body is mostly water!
Publishing the Discovery
When Lauterbur first sent his paper about his discoveries to Nature magazine, the editors rejected it. But Lauterbur didn't give up. He asked them to review it again. This time, it was published and is now known as a classic Nature paper. The editors had said the pictures were too blurry. However, they were the first images to show the difference between heavy water and regular water. Lauterbur once said, "You could write the entire history of science in the last 50 years in terms of papers rejected by Science or Nature."
Peter Mansfield from the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom took Lauterbur's work even further. Lauterbur's first method was slow. Mansfield found a faster way using frequency and phase encoding with magnetic field gradients. This method, along with a math technique called Fourier transformation, greatly sped up the imaging process.
Nobel Prize Recognition
Paul Lauterbur and Peter Mansfield received the Nobel Prize in the fall of 2003. There was some discussion when Raymond Damadian placed ads in newspapers saying he should have been included. Damadian claimed he discovered MRI, and that Lauterbur and Mansfield just improved his technology.
However, many scientists agree that while Damadian held an early patent, Lauterbur and Mansfield greatly expanded the technology. They made it possible to create the first 2D and then 3D images of the body. This is why their work was seen as worthy of the Nobel Prize.
Later Life and Passing
Paul Lauterbur passed away in March 2007 at his home in Urbana, Illinois. He was 77 years old and died from kidney disease. The Chancellor of the University of Illinois, Richard Herman, said, "Paul's influence is felt around the world every day, every time an MRI saves the life of a daughter or a son, a mother or a father."
Other Awards and Honors
Paul Lauterbur received many other awards and honors for his groundbreaking work:
- Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research, 1984
- General Motors Cancer Research Foundation Kettering Prize, 1985
- Gairdner Foundation International Award, 1985
- The Harvey Prize, 1986
- National Medal of Science, 1987
- Pittsburgh Spectroscopy Award, 1987
- National Medal of Technology, 1988 (with Raymond Damadian)
- Bower Award, Franklin Institute of Philadelphia, 1990 (first person to receive it)
- Carnegie Mellon Dickson Prize in Science, 1993
- NAS Award for Chemistry in Service to Society of the National Academy of Sciences, 2001
- Charter member, Phi Kappa Tau Hall of Fame, 2006
- National Inventors Hall of Fame, 2007
- An asteroid, 255598 Paullauterbur, was named in his honor in 2017.
- Stony Brook University named a student residence after Lauterbur in 2010.
Honorary Degrees
He also received special honorary degrees from several universities:
- Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh
- University of Liège in Belgium
- Nicolaus Copernicus University Medical School in Kraków, Poland
Images for kids
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Lauterbur Hall at Stony Brook University, named after Paul Lauterbur.
See also
In Spanish: Paul C. Lauterbur para niños
- Nobel Prize controversies
- Luxembourg American
