University of Nottingham (UK)

The University of Nottingham reached a landmark in its long list of academic achievements in 2003 when Sir Peter Mansfield was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine for his work in the application of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The award is shared with the late Paul Lauterbur from the University of Illinois. MRI has been compared to the discovery of x-rays in its significance to medicine, becoming an indispensable tool in medical diagnostics, drastically reducing the need for invasive surgery. There are over 60 million MRI scans carried out worldwide each year. The importance of Sir Peter's work led to the founding of the Magnetic Resonance Centre in 1991 - now named the Sir Peter Mansfield Magnetic Resonance Centre in his honour.