Magnetische Einsichten in kulturelles Erbe: Anwendung der magnetischen Kernresonanz (NMR) bei der Charakterisierung von kunst- und kulturgeschichtlichen Objekten

Magnetische Kernresonanz (NMR) findet ihre größten Anwendungen als bildgebendes Verfahren in der medizinischen Diagnostik und als spektroskopisches Verfahren zur Aufklärung molekularer Strukturen in der analytischen Chemie. In den letzten zwei Jahrzehnten ist es gelungen, die Geräte mit den riesigen Magneten so klein zu machen, dass sie auf einen Arbeitstisch passen oder sogar in einen Schuhkarton. Ein Beispiel ist die NMR-MOUSE (MObile Universal Surface Explorer), ein tragbarer NMR-Sensor für die zerstörungsfreie Materialprüfung. Dieses Gerät wurde in drei aufeinanderfolgenden Kooperationsprojekten der Europäischen Gemeinschaft zur Analyse von Objekten unseres kulturellen Erbes entwickelt. Mit ihm erhält man neue Einsichten in unterschiedliche Objekte aus dem Schatz der Vergangenheit. Beispiele sind Gemälde auf Holz und Leinwand, die Unterschiede in den Fertigungstechniken des vielschichtigen Mörteluntergrundes der Fresken von Herculaneum, die Knochen von Ötzi und Karl dem Großen, sowie die Alterung von Papier und Pergament. Der Vortrag erklärt die Methode und berichtet von verschiedenen magnetischen Einsichten aus vergangenen Untersuchungen

CV

1993 – now    Professor of Macromolecular Chemistry

1988                Habilitation in Physical Chemistry, Univ. of Mainz

1984 – 1992    Member of staff, Max-Planck-Institute of Polymer Research, Mainz

1983                Member of staff, Macromolecular Chemistry, Univ. Bayreuth

1982                NATO postdoctoral fellow, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada

1981                Promotion to Dr. rer. nat. in Physical Chemistry, TU Berlin

Relevant Expertise

- NMR of Materials and Processes

- Mobile NMR

Short summary

The research activities of Prof. Blümich aim at understanding the macroscopic properties of advanced polymer and functional porous materials by NMR on a microscopic and molecular basis. To this end he develops and applies NMR methods for NMR spectroscopy of liquids and solids, NMR imaging of heterogeneous materials and fluid flow, and measurements of NMR relaxation and diffusion. Bernhard Blümich has pioneered a number of methodical innovations concerning multidimensional NMR spectroscopy with noise excitation, 1D and 2D methods of studying molecular motion in solids, solid state imaging, and flow NMR. A growing focus in his recent work is the development of magnets for compact NMR such as the NMR-MOUSE for non-destructive materials testing and permanent magnets with homogeneous fields for chemical analysis by ¹ H NMR spectroscopy under the fume hood. The magnet technology has been commercialized in an RWTH spin-off company ACT GmbH, which has merged with Magritek Ltd in 2011.

Honors

-  Dr. honoris causa from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar (2015)

-  Harold Herzlich Distinguished Technology Achievement Award, International Tire Exhibition and Conference ITEC, Acron (2014)

-  President of the Ampere Society (2012)

-  Associate editor, Journal of Magnetic Resonance (2012)

-  Honorary member of the Indian Society of Magnetic Resonance (2009)

-  Third Price of the Northrhine-Westphalian State Patent Competition 2008 for the “Invention of the Profile NMR-MOUSE”

-  Fellow of the International Society of Magnetic Resonance (2008)

-  Ampere Prize of the Groupement Ampere for Development of the NMR-MOUSE and its Applications to various fields of science and technology (2007)

-  Visiting Miller Professor, Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science, UC Berkeley (2006)

-  Member of the Large-Scale instrumentation Committee of DFG (2003-2008)

-  Founder and Past Chair of the Division of Spatially Resolved Magnetic Resonance of the Ampere Society

-  DFG Collaborative Research Project FOR 333, Surface NMR of Elastomers and Biological Tissues (1999 - 2005, Chair)

-  Dr. honoris causa from the Technical University Cluj-Napoca (2002)

Selected Publications (400+ in total, 20 patents, 3 monographs)

B. Blümich, NMR Imaging of Materials, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 2000

B. Blümich, Essential NMR for Scientists and Engineers, Springer, Berlin, 2005

B. Blümich, S. Haber-Pohlmeier, W. Zia, Compact NMR, de Gruyter, Berlin, 2014

S.S. Zalesskiy, E. Danieli, B. Blümich, V.P. Ananikov, Miniaturization of NMR Systems: Desktop Spectrometers, Microcoil Spectroscopy, and “NMR on a Chip” for Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Industry, Chemical Reviews, (2014) DOI: 10.1021/cr400063g

B. Blümich, J. Perlo, F. Casanova, Mobile Single-Sided NMR, Progress in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy 52 (2008) 197-269

J. Perlo, F. Casanova, B. Blümich, Ex situ NMR in Highly Homogeneous Fields: ¹ H spectroscopy, Science 315 (2007) 1110-1112

S. Appelt, H. Kühn,  F. W. Häsing, B. Blümich, Chemical Analysis by Ultrahigh Resolution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance in the Earth´s Magnetic Field, Nature Physics 2 (2006) 105 – 109

J. Perlo, V. Demas, F. Casanova, C.A. Meriles, J. Reimer, A. Pines, B. Blümich, High-resolution NMR spectroscopy with a portable single-sided sensor, Science 308 (2005) 1278