Class of 1974 Ph.D.
MRI Technology Innovator
(1944 - )

The pioneering contributions of E. Trifon Laskaris to the design and construction of superconducting magnets have had a major impact on magnetic resonance imaging, a technology that has helped revolutionize modern medicine. A chief scientist at GE and a prolific inventor, Laskaris has been awarded more than 200 patents. His groundbreaking work refined and scaled prototype designs for the superconducting magnets that form the core of GE’s MRI systems. Beginning with the 1.5 tesla magnets that became the industry standard for MRI machines, Laskaris developed a succession of increasingly sophisticated, higher and higher field magnets for MRI systems, both open and closed, which led to improved image quality and better diagnosis. In the 1990s, he developed a design for a “double donut” MRI machine that is open vertically, enabling surgeons to image patients during surgery, particularly brain surgery. A member of the National Academy of Engineering, Laskaris also has made pioneering contributions to the development of superconducting rotating machines for power generation.