Richard R. Ernst

Richard Robert Ernst (14 August 1933 – 4 June 2021) was a Swiss physical chemist and Nobel laureate.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Ernst was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1991 for his contributions towards the development of Fourier transform nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy<ref name="Aue1976">Template:Cite journal</ref> while at Varian Associates and ETH Zurich.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=autobio>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=Ernstbio>Template:Cite web</ref> These underpin applications to both to chemistry with NMR spectroscopy and to medicine with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).<ref name=formemrs/>

He humbly referred to himself as a "tool-maker" rather than a scientist.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite news</ref>

Early life

Ernst was born in Winterthur, Switzerland on 14 August 1933<ref name=Nobel>Template:Cite web</ref> to Robert Ernst and Irma Ernst-Brunner.<ref name="Anthes">Template:Cite web</ref> He was the oldest of three children of Irma Brunner and Robert Ernst. He grew up in a house built in 1898 by his grandfather, who was a merchant.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During his childhood, he was interested in music, playing the violoncello and even considering a career as a musical composer. At 13-years old, Ernst stumbled upon a box of chemicals belonging to his late uncle, a metallurgical engineer.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> Young Ernst was excited by what he found, and set about trying all conceivable reactions, some of which resulted in explosions that terrified his parents.<ref name=":2" />

Education

He enrolled in the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) in Zurich to study chemistry and received his diploma in 1957 as a “Diplomierter Ingenieur Chemiker''.<ref>https://ethz.ch/content/dam/ethz/special-interest/chab/chab-dept/department/images/Emeriti/richard_ernst/Autobiography2010.pdf Template:Bare URL PDF</ref> He was disappointed in the course content, so conducted further research and taught himself quantum mechanics and thermodynamics in his spare time.<ref name=":2" /> After a break to complete his military service, Ernst earned his Ph.D. in physical chemistry in 1962<ref name=ernstphd>Template:Cite thesis</ref> from ETH Zurich.<ref>Richard R. Ernst, ETH Zurich Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, http://www.chab.ethz.ch/personen/emeritus/rernst (Retrieved 18 April 2016)</ref> His dissertation was on nuclear magnetic resonance in the field of physical chemistry.<ref name=Nobel/>

Career

Ernst entered Varian Associates as a scientist in 1963 and invented Fourier transform NMR, noise decoupling, and a number of other methods. He returned to ETH Zurich in 1968 and became a lecturer. His career developed into assistant professor in 1970 and associate professor in 1972. From 1976, Richard R. Ernst was Full Professor of Physical Chemistry.<ref name=":0" />

Ernst led a research group dedicated to magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and was the director of the Physical Chemistry Laboratory at the ETH Zurich. He developed two-dimensional NMR and several novel pulse techniques. He retired in 1998. He participated in the development of medical magnetic resonance tomography, as well as the NMR structure determination of biopolymers in solution collaborating with Professor Kurt Wüthrich. He also participated in the study of intra-molecular dynamics.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

Awards and honours

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Richard R. Ernst, UNESCO 2011

Ernst was a foreign fellow of the Estonian Academy of Sciences (elected 2002),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the US National Academy of Sciences, the Royal Academy of Sciences, London, the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Korean Academy of Science and Technology and Bangladesh Academy of Sciences.<ref>List of Fellows of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences Template:Webarchive</ref><ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He was elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society (ForMemRS) in 1993.<ref name=formemrs/> He was awarded the John Gamble Kirkwood Medal in 1989.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1991, Ernst was on an aeroplane flying over the Atlantic when he discovered he had been awarded The Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He was invited into the cockpit, where he was given a radio to talk to the Nobel committee. Here they told him he was being honoured "for his contributions to the development of the methodology of high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy".<ref name=":2" /><ref>"The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1991". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014. Web. 10 November 2015. <http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1991/></ref>

Ernst was a member of the World Knowledge Dialogue Scientific Board. He was awarded the Marcel Benoist Prize in 1986, the Wolf Prize in Chemistry in 1991,<ref name=Swissinfo>Template:Cite news</ref> and Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize of Columbia University in 1991.<ref name=":1" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was also awarded the Tadeus Reichstein Medal in 2000<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the Order of the Star of Romania in 2004.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He also held Honorary Doctorates from the Technical University of Munich, EPF Lausanne, University of Zurich, University Antwerpen, Babes-Bolyai University, and University Montpellier.<ref name=":1" />

The 2009 Bel Air Film Festival featured the world premiere of a documentary film on Ernst Science Plus Dharma Equals Social Responsibility. Produced by Carlo Burton, the film takes place in Ernst's hometown in Switzerland.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2022, another movie about Richard R. Ernst premiered at the Cameo cinema in Winterthur, produced by Lukas Schwarzenbacher and Susanne Schmid. The documentary contains a retrospective of Richard R. Ernsts life, which was filmed only a few months before his death.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Ernst was married to Magdalena until his death.<ref name=AFP>Template:Cite news</ref> Together, they had three children: Anna Magdalena, Katharina Elisabeth and Hans-Martin Walter.<ref name=Nobel/> Besides toiling with his work, Ernst also enjoyed music and art, specifically Tibetan scroll art. Using scientific techniques, Ernst would research the pigments on the scrolls to learn about their geographic origin and age.<ref name="Anthes"/>

Ernst died on 4 June 2021 in Winterthur at the age of 87.<ref name=AFP/><ref name=Swissinfo/>

Selected bibliography

• Principles of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance in One and Two Dimensions, Clarendon Press, 1987<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Richard R. Ernst: Nobelpreisträger aus Winterthur, Hier und Jetzt, Baden 2020
• Alois Feusi: Richard Ernst: Der Selbstzweifler, dem der Nobelpreis peinlich war. Summary of his autobiography. Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 21 May 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2020

External links

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