Laurance David Hall

An account is given of the life, scientific contributions, and passing of Laurance David Hall (1938-2009), including his early history and education at the University of Bristol, UK, and the synthesis and NMR spectroscopy of carbohydrates and other natural products during ∼20 years of research and teaching at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Lists of graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, and sabbatical visitors are provided for this period. Following a generous endowment by Dr. Herchel Smith, Professor Hall built a new Department of Medicinal Chemistry at Cambridge University, UK, and greatly expanded his researches into the technology and applications of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and zero quantum NMR. MRI technology was applied both to medical problems such as the characterization of cartilage degeneration in knee joints, the measurement of ventricular function, lipid localization in animal models of atherosclerosis, paramagnetic metal complexes of polysaccharides as contrast agents, and studies of many other anatomical features, but also to several aspects of materials analysis, including food analyses, process control, and the elucidation of such physical phenomena as the flow of liquids through porous media, defects in concrete, and the visualization of fungal damage to wood. Professor Hall's many publications, patents, lectures, and honors and awards are described, and also his successful effort to keep the Asilomar facility in Pacific Grove, California as the alternating venue for the annual Experimental NMR Conference. Two memorial services for Professor Hall are remembered.