Herman Carr
Encyclopedia
Herman Y. Carr was an American physicist and pioneer of magnetic resonance imaging
.
Carr was born in Alliance, Ohio
. He received his BS, MS and PHD from Harvard University
, where he studied under Edward Purcell
. He later moved to Rutgers University
, where he was professor. He retired in 1987.
In 2003 the Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to Paul C. Lauterbur and Peter Mansfield
for their work on MRI. There was some controversy when Carr was not awarded the prize jointly with Lauterbur and Mansfield. See Nobel Prize controversies
.
Ten years before the Nobel announcement, Carr wrote to Physics Today noting that both his 1952 demonstration of use of magnetic gradients for spatial localization and his actual demonstration of 1-D "imaging" had been overlooked by the radiologist Felix Wehrli in a 1992 article. In a later letter to Physics Today, Carr noted that the 1952 MRI demonstration had also been overlooked by Bertram Schwarzschild in a 2003 article which referred to Wehrli’s 1992 article. Schwarzschild did mention the 1952 use of field gradients to correlate nuclear signals to spatial location and thus enable the measurements of both diffusion and flow, but the 1952 MRI measurement of structure was not mentioned.
As a professed pacifist he served on the National General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church where he was a representative to Russia during glasnost promoting Christianity, justice and world peace. He was recognized and honored in 1995 with the Francis Asbury Award for fostering United Methodist Ministries in Higher Education. He was a very active member of the United Methodist Church of New Brunswick where he served many capacities as a church layman. His special interest was focused on the church's Urban Outreach to area public housing and men’s shelters, world peace and social justice.
Herman Carr, 83, died peacefully on April 9, 2008 at his home in Bridgewater, NJ.
Surviving are his children, Robert Carr and Amanda Carr-Sozer.
Magnetic resonance imaging
Magnetic resonance imaging , nuclear magnetic resonance imaging , or magnetic resonance tomography is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to visualize detailed internal structures...
.
Carr was born in Alliance, Ohio
Alliance, Ohio
Alliance is a city in Stark and Mahoning counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 22,322 at the 2010 census. Alliance's nickname is "The Carnation City", and the city is home to the University of Mount Union....
. He received his BS, MS and PHD from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where he studied under Edward Purcell
Edward Mills Purcell
Edward Mills Purcell was an American physicist who shared the 1952 Nobel Prize for Physics for his independent discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance in liquids and in solids. Nuclear magnetic resonance has become widely used to study the molecular structure of pure materials and the...
. He later moved to Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
, where he was professor. He retired in 1987.
In 2003 the Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to Paul C. Lauterbur and Peter Mansfield
Peter Mansfield
Sir Peter Mansfield, FRS, , is a British physicist who was awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries concerning magnetic resonance imaging . The Nobel Prize was shared with Paul Lauterbur, who also contributed to the development of MRI...
for their work on MRI. There was some controversy when Carr was not awarded the prize jointly with Lauterbur and Mansfield. See Nobel Prize controversies
Nobel Prize controversies
Subsequent to his death in 1896, the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel established the Nobel Prizes. Annual prizes were to be awarded for service to humanity in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace. Similarly, the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic...
.
Ten years before the Nobel announcement, Carr wrote to Physics Today noting that both his 1952 demonstration of use of magnetic gradients for spatial localization and his actual demonstration of 1-D "imaging" had been overlooked by the radiologist Felix Wehrli in a 1992 article. In a later letter to Physics Today, Carr noted that the 1952 MRI demonstration had also been overlooked by Bertram Schwarzschild in a 2003 article which referred to Wehrli’s 1992 article. Schwarzschild did mention the 1952 use of field gradients to correlate nuclear signals to spatial location and thus enable the measurements of both diffusion and flow, but the 1952 MRI measurement of structure was not mentioned.
As a professed pacifist he served on the National General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church where he was a representative to Russia during glasnost promoting Christianity, justice and world peace. He was recognized and honored in 1995 with the Francis Asbury Award for fostering United Methodist Ministries in Higher Education. He was a very active member of the United Methodist Church of New Brunswick where he served many capacities as a church layman. His special interest was focused on the church's Urban Outreach to area public housing and men’s shelters, world peace and social justice.
Herman Carr, 83, died peacefully on April 9, 2008 at his home in Bridgewater, NJ.
Surviving are his children, Robert Carr and Amanda Carr-Sozer.