Ray Freeman facts for kids

Raymond Freeman (born January 6, 1932 – died May 1, 2022) was a brilliant British chemist and professor. He taught at Jesus College, Cambridge. Dr. Freeman made very important discoveries in a science field called NMR spectroscopy. This is a special way to study atoms and molecules.

Becoming a Scientist

Raymond Freeman went to Nottingham High School. In 1949, he won a special scholarship to Lincoln College, Oxford, which is a famous university.

Before starting university, he served in the Royal Air Force. He worked as a radar instructor.

In 1951, he began studying Chemistry at Oxford. His teacher was Rex Richards. Raymond Freeman did research on NMR, especially looking at less common atoms like Cobalt-59. He earned his Master's and PhD degrees there.

His Career Journey

After Oxford, in 1957, Freeman joined a research group in France. He worked with a famous scientist named Robert Pound. Together, they built a very stable and accurate NMR machine.

Working in California

In 1961, after working for three years at the National Physical Laboratory in the UK, Freeman went to California. He joined a company called Varian Associates. He planned to stay for one year, but he loved the work so much that he stayed for twelve! His family grew up in California.

At Varian, he researched different NMR techniques. He also helped create new NMR machines, like the XL-100 and CFT-20.

Back to Oxford

In 1973, Freeman returned to Oxford University. He became a lecturer and started his own research team. His team focused on making NMR methods even better.

He earned a higher science degree in 1975. In 1979, he was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very high honor for scientists.

With his students, he published many papers on new NMR techniques. This included work on "two-dimensional NMR," which was a big step forward.

Writing Books

While visiting Caltech in Pasadena, Freeman wrote his first book, "A Handbook of Magnetic Resonance." It was so important that it was translated into Japanese and Russian.

Moving to Cambridge

In 1987, Freeman moved to the University of Cambridge. He became a professor there, holding the Plummer chair of magnetic resonance. He also became a Fellow of Jesus College. He continued his NMR research and wrote a second book, "Spin Choreography."

He officially retired in 1999. However, he kept doing research with a colleague, Eriks Kupce. In 2003, he published his third book, "NMR in Chemistry and Medicine." This book was also translated into Russian.

Awards and Honors

Raymond Freeman received many awards for his amazing work.

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1979. This award recognized how he developed many NMR techniques that are now used all over the world. He found new ways to use "double resonance" and "triple resonance" to understand NMR results. He also showed how to see weak signals from atoms like Carbon-13. His work was known for being new, clever, and clear.

In 2002, he was also given the Royal Medal. This is another very important award for scientific achievements.

Family Life

In 1958, Raymond Freeman married Anne-Marie Périnet-Marquet. She was from France. They had five children together.