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Old 24th Feb 2017, 1:46 pm   #1
Bazz4CQJ
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Default RIP Sir Peter Mansfield

Although the forum had a lengthy discussion of MRI body scanners just a few months ago https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...hlight=scanner, we seem to have overlooked the recent death (8th February) of the British scientist who was central to their development, Prof. Sir Peter Mansfield.

Mansfield, a professor of Physics at Nottingham University, was awarded a Nobel Prize in 2003. His story is quite an interesting one, as he was not very successful at school and when he told the careers master that he wanted to work in science, the teacher laughed at him and sent him to work at a printers.

Undeterred, Mansfield managed to find another job at the Government’s ‘Rocket Propulsion Establishment’ (RPE) at Westcott (Bucks). The centre had been set up after the War as an outpost of the Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough to assess the handful of V2 rockets and the few German rocket scientists that did not fall in to either American or Soviet hands.

RPE gave Mansfield a “second chance” with his education, and through evening classes, he was eventually able to gain a place at UCL to read Physics, and went on there to do a PhD concerning NMR. Subsequently, he joined the staff at Nottingham.

It is interesting to note that Mansfield insisted being the first living person to undergo an MRI scan, despite concern from the medics about the possible adverse effects on the heart. His grand-daughter was interviewed on R4 recently and said he was a very jocular man who was extremely modest about his achievements.

RIP Sir Peter.

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Old 24th Feb 2017, 2:55 pm   #2
dave walsh
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Default Re: RIP Sir Peter Mansfield

Yes he was also reported in the Guardian on 22/2/17 as having the personality described by Bazz. A follow up letter the next day from Prof Roger Cullis "Jam Jar Genius of MRI" said that the apparatus for Mansfield's third year Uni experimental project to measure the nuclear magnetic resonance of hydrogen atoms "consisted essentially of a jam jar, half filled with water and surrounded by a coil of enamelled copper wire." This put me in mind of Faraday's early experiments. It's incredible to think of the advances that have now been brought to human and animal medical science by this technology!

His death is one of a sad trilogy this week which includes the great Steve Hewlett who could have been an even better BBC DG than Greg Dyke if he'd hadn't been so determined to tell the truth as he saw it.

Finally Peter Skellern [from Bury] died as well. My dad knew his father and I recall seeing Peter at the Opera House Manchester in 1972 being hyped up by an over loud Sony? rep in a white suit. That didn't "suit" his personality. He was a performer a little out of of his time but successful anyway. Probaly quite "BBC friendly" and generally so with a Mansfield type personality. On a lighter "note" a friend of his wrote in to describe an incident at Music College. The 20 year old Peter thought he had played a Debussy piece with great feeling.The Professor asked if he was still a virgin? Peter said "er Yes" and the response was "come back when you are not!". Peter went home to his student lodgings and announced to his friends sitting around the kitchen table "Guess what I've got for homework!" He was due to be ordained at the point of his death-a great loss for the Church as well I suspect.

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