Allan McLeod Cormack Biography

Allan McLeod Cormack was a South African-American physicist, who received the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Though his primary area of research was nuclear physics and particle physics, he was noted for his contributions towards X-ray computed tomography. After completing his graduation and post graduation studies in physics and crystallography respectively, he took up research at the St. John's College, Cambridge. Between 1950 and 1956, he worked as a lecturer at the University of Cape Town following which he spent a sabbatical year doing research at the Harvard University. In 1957, he commenced his job at Tufts University. He remained at the university throughout his career, and also served as Chairman of the Physics Department from 1968 to 1976. In the 1960’s he came up with a mathematical formula that enabled the compilation of a precise image developed from data collected measurements of X-rays passing through the body from various directions. Though Allan M. Cormack and Sir Godfrey Newbold Hounasfield conducted studies independently, they were jointly awarded the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for ‘for the development of computer assisted tomography’. He was among the few laureates to receive the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine without having earned a doctorate degree in medicine or any other field of science.