Allan McLeod Cormack

Allan McLeod Cormack

Born	(1924-02-23)February 23, 1924
Birth place	Johannesburg, South Africa
Died	May 7, 1998(1998-05-07) (aged 74)
Place of death	Massachusetts, United States
Nationality	South African-American
Known for	Computed tomography
Awards	Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1979)

Allan McLeod Cormack (23 February 1924 – 7 May 1998) was a South African-American physicist who is co-credited with developing the mathematical theory underlying computed tomography (CT). He shared the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Godfrey Hounsfield for their contributions to the development of CT scanning technology, which has become a crucial tool in medical imaging.

Early life and education

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Cormack completed his undergraduate and master's degrees in physics at the University of Cape Town. He later moved to the United Kingdom where he attended Cambridge University for his doctoral studies, although his work at Cambridge did not directly involve CT technology.

Career and research

After completing his education, Cormack became a professor at Tufts University in Massachusetts, USA. It was here, during the early 1960s, that he began his groundbreaking work on the theoretical underpinnings of computed tomography. Cormack's development of the mathematical formulae to reconstruct a two-dimensional image from projections later became a fundamental basis for the CT scan.

Despite the significance of his contributions, Cormack's work initially went relatively unnoticed until it was integrated into the first commercially viable CT scanner built by Godfrey Hounsfield and the company EMI Ltd. This collaboration ultimately revolutionized diagnostic medicine, providing clinicians with unprecedented views inside the human body without the need for invasive surgery.

Awards and honors

Cormack's pioneering work in medical imaging earned him numerous accolades, most notably the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1979. His other honors include election to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Personal life and legacy

Cormack was married to Barbara Seavey, and they had two children. He remained active in research and teaching at Tufts University until his death in 1998. Today, Allan McLeod Cormack is remembered not only for his contributions to medical physics but also for his role in transforming diagnostic practices in medicine.

See also

• Radiology
• Medical imaging
• Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine