RBC | This is the final article in a series documenting the importance of scientific research in our economy and the role of research universities in driving innovation. Those universities and their research labs are presently under threat.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) provides one example of the process of scientific discovery and its practical application. There are countless similar stories – the laser, the transistor, gene editing, and neural networks to name just a few recent developments.
Research universities engage in basic research, i.e. investigations trying to understand how nature works. Only later do they, or other scientists and engineers, develop practical applications for their discoveries. Dr. Bob Dorsett recounts that what eventually became the MRI machines we see in our hospitals today started as an investigation to understand properties of the atomic nucleus.
Felix Bloch, a young German scientist, came to the United States in 1934 to escape the Nazi regime. He soon joined the faculty at Stanford University. There he figured out the mathematical equations describing the magnetic moment of the neutron. Such work is pencil on paper, using known theory and mathematical logic to tease out new understanding. Bloch applied quantum theory to build a mathematical model that fit new experimental data coming out of the particle accelerator laboratories.
The Bloch equations provided the blueprint for nuclear magnetic resonance machines (NMR). He and other scientists realized that they could apply strong magnetic and electromagnetic fields to probe the atomic nucleus. NMR enabled chemists to discern the elemental composition of chemical compounds. Early NMR machines became available in Dr. Dorsett’s student days.
As NMR technology improved, it became possible to probe weaker signals from chemical elements common in living tissues, particularly carbon and hydrogen. Years of work, ongoing today, has improved the technology so that now, with MRI, we can see details of soft tissues such as blood vessels in the brain, biliary tracts in the liver, or torn shoulder ligaments. Even more, we can watch different organs at work, e.g. the brain as it translates a written word into speech.
As illustrated in this brief history of MRI, turning theoretical equations into practical technology requires years of work by many researchers. Freedom to explore new ideas is critical. Research universities provide the necessary environments for those explorations.
Particularly worrisome these days: attacks on research universities and cuts to government funding could cause premier scientists and their students to leave the U.S., reversing the influx of talent seen in recent years.
One hope for this series of articles, as Dr. Dorsett expressed, is to call attention to the importance of collaboration between government, research institutes and universities. American science, scientific training, and technological innovation lead the world. “Let’s not throw it all away,” he concluded.
