Edward Mills Purcell Autograph

Profession:
(1912-1997) American physicist who shared the 1952 Nobel Prize for Physics for his independent discovery (published 1946) of nuclear magnetic resonance in liquids and in solids.

Year of Birth: 1912

Edward Mills Purcell was an American physicist who was awarded the 1952 Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of nuclear magnetic resonance in liquids and in solids. He is also credited with the invention of the Purcell effect, which is the ability of a magnetic field to alter the electrical properties of a material. Purcell was born in Taylorville, Illinois, on August 30, 1912. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1933.

Purcell then went on to Harvard University, where he earned a Master's degree in 1934 and a Ph.D. in Physics in 1938. After completing his education, Purcell took a position as an assistant professor at Harvard, where he would remain for the next four decades. During his tenure, Purcell was involved in numerous research projects, but it was his work on nuclear magnetic resonance that would earn him the Nobel Prize.

In 1945, Purcell and his colleague Felix Bloch published the paper "Nuclear Induction," which described their work on the detection of nuclear magnetic resonance. This work was the first direct evidence of the existence of nuclear magnetic moments, and it earned them both the Nobel Prize. In 1952, Purcell and Bloch were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics "for their development of new methods for nuclear magnetic precision measurements and discoveries in connection therewith."

Purcell's other notable research included the discovery of the Purcell effect, which is the ability of a magnetic field to alter the electrical properties of a material. This work earned him the National Medal of Science in 1967. In addition to his research, Purcell was a gifted teacher and mentor. He inspired generations of students and colleagues and was a leader in the development of nuclear magnetic resonance.

Purcell's legacy lives on in the numerous awards and honors that he received during his lifetime and after his death. He was a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the recipient of numerous honorary degrees. In addition, he was awarded the National Medal of Science and the Vannevar Bush Award. His work also earned him numerous honors, including the Rumford Prize and the Comstock Prize.

Edward Mills Purcell was an influential scientist and educator whose work has had a lasting impact on the field of physics. His discoveries of nuclear magnetic resonance and the Purcell effect are some of the most important contributions to the field. Purcell's legacy will continue to be remembered for generations to come.