Nico Bloembergen

Dr. Rob Herber was Associate Professor at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam. Amongst others, he developed both methods and apparatus for atomic absorption spectrometry and an optical pyrometer for this apparatus. He is currently a guest researcher at the Descartes Centre of Utrecht University.

• Introduction.- Part One. FAMILY AND UPBRINGING.- the BLOEMBERGEN Dynasty: high peaks and deep valleys.- Bilthoven: Playground for the elite (1925-1938). Primary school and High school.- Part Two. STUDIES.- IN THE footsteps OF LORENTZ, KRAMERS, AND ORNSTEIN.- BSc and MSc exams in wartime - INFECTED by science.- Quantum mechanics and oil lampS: Bilthoven in the war.- Part Three. From atoms to humans: nuclear magnetic resonance and MRI.- A leap into the deep.- To Harvard: Tintin in America (1946-1947).- Doctorate in Leiden: in the lab of Kamerlingh Onnes (1947-1948).- A permanent position in Harvard. Marriage.- From atoms to humans: Chemical shift and Magnetic Resonance Imaging.- Part Four. Masers and lasers.- The birth of the maser - Oil and the Milky Way: applications of the maser.- The Wild West and Soviets - laser applications From eyes to cars.- Part Five. Non-linear optics, the icing on the cake.- From lasers to nonlinear optics.- Crowning glory: the Nobel Prize.- Part Six. Star wars.-  STrategic Defense Initiative (SDI).- Part Seven. TAKING THINGS EASY.- Emeritus, but not retired.