Searching and Researching : An Autobiography of a Nobel Laureate

In the last 130 years, 30 Swiss people have won a Nobel Prize, and one of them is Richard R. Ernst. He laid the foundation for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which revolutionized medical diagnostics across the globe. In his autobiography, which the scientist completed shortly before he passed away at the age of 87, he talks about his life. Prof. Ernst grew up in a family long-established in Winterthur, Switzerland, however his childhood and adolescence were overshadowed by a demanding father. He talks in detail about the start of his career in the 1960s, when he made a number of key discoveries at Varian Associates, Palo Alto, USA, as well as about his return to ETH Zürich, Switzerland, and the shark tank that university research is. The highly talented chemist reveals how his passion for Himalayan art began while travelling in Nepal, which ended in him building up one of the most significant collections of thangkas – the tantric Buddhist scrolls. In this book, Prof. Ernst discusses openly and directly about all aspects of his life, with humility and a wry sense of humor. In 1991, Richard R. Ernst received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his ground-breaking contributions to nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Now 87 years of age, the scientist talks about his life in a new autobiography. "In the last 130 years, 30 Swiss people have won a Nobel Prize. One of them is Richard R. Ernst. In 1991, he received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his ground-breaking contributions to nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. He laid the foundations for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which revolutionized medical diagnostics across the globe. Now 87 years of age, the scientist talks about his life in a new autobiography. Ernst was born in 1933 and grew up in a long-established family in Winterthur, however his childhood and adolescence were overshadowed by a demanding father. He talks in detail about the start of his career in the 1960s, when he made a number of key discoveries in Palo Alto, before returning to ETH Zurich and the shark tank that is university research. The highly talented chemist reveals how his passion for Himalayan art began while traveling in Nepal, which ended in him building up one of the most significant collections of Thangkas - Tantric Buddhist scrolls. His book discusses this and much more, with Ernst talking openly and directly about all aspects of his life, with humility and a wry sense of humor."--Back cover Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Childhood and Youth, 1933–1952 Undergraduate Degree and Dissertation at ETH Zurich, 1952–1962 Silver Linings over the Pacific, 1963–1968 Return to ETH, 1968–1990 The Light at the End of the Tunnel: The Nobel Prize, 1991 Thangkas: The Other Dimension Legacy Epilogue by Prof. Alexander Wokaun Acknowledgments Chronology Glossary Photo Credits