Erwin Louis Hahn (9th June 1921 – 20th September 2016) was an American physicist and Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences who authored many groundbreaking articles that present major advances in magnetic resonance and optics. He is most well known in the science community for his contributions in time reversal phenomena, in nuclear quadrupole resonance and in nuclear magnetic resonance for the spin echoes and in optics for self-induced transparency. He was the first to perform pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance and to record the first free induction decay. Erwin Hahn joined the Department of Physics at the University of California Berkeley as an assistant professor in 1955, becoming a full professor in 1961 and then an emeritus in 1991. Being professor emeritus at UC Berkeley he received in 2016 the Gold Medal from the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM), the society’s highest honor, for his creation of pulsed magnetic resonance and processes of signal refocusing which are essential to, and the foundation of, modern day magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy.
He was an extremely passionate lover of physics, a brilliant mind and remained excited about the wonders of our physical world throughout his life. He was a beloved mentor to young students who benefited from his experience and presence in the laboratory.
In recognition of the merits of Erwin Louis Hahn, before each conference the organizers will solicit brief nominations from the Executive and Division Committee. The Executive Committee will choose the recipient of the Erwin Hahn Lecturer Award from these nominations. It will be given to a highly visible researcher who has provided a lifetime of contributions to the SRMR community. The recipient will be asked to deliver a keynote speech at the ICMRM conference.