Jean Louis Charles Jeener is a Belgian

physical chemist Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical me ...

and

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

, well known for his experimental and theoretical contributions to spin

thermodynamics Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed by the four laws of the ...

in solids and for his invention of

Two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy Two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (2D NMR) is a set of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) methods which give data plotted in a space defined by two frequency axes rather than one. Types of 2D NMR include correlation ...

. He was born in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

in 1931, son of Raymond Jeener (

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

) and Hélène Massar. He is married to Françoise Henin.

Early life

Jeener grew up in Brussels.

Career

Jeener was professor in Physics at Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) from 1960 until he retired in 1996. At ULB, Jeener researched spin thermodynamics and

spin dynamics Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally ...

in solids. He introduced the “Jeener-Broekaert sequence” for creating observable quantities of dipolar order in solids.

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Jeener is best known for introducing two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy (2DNMR). In a lecture at the AMPERE Summer School in Basko Polje,

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, September 1971, he proposed a novel technique, later known as

Correlation Spectroscopy Two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (2D NMR) is a set of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) methods which give data plotted in a space defined by two frequency axes rather than one. Types of 2D NMR include correlation ...

(COSY), in which the response of the nuclear spins to two

radio frequency Radio frequency (RF) is the oscillation rate of an alternating electric current or voltage or of a magnetic, electric or electromagnetic field or mechanical system in the frequency range from around to around . This is roughly between the upp ...

pulses is treated by a double

Fourier transformation A Fourier transform (FT) is a mathematical transform that decomposes functions into frequency components, which are represented by the output of the transform as a function of frequency. Most commonly functions of time or space are transformed ...

with respect to the delay between the pulses, and the delay after the second pulse. This technique gives detailed information about the molecular links between atoms, inaccessible with previous techniques. The first experimental demonstration of this technique was carried out by

Richard R. Ernst Richard Robert Ernst (14 August 1933 – 4 June 2021) was a Swiss physical chemist and Nobel Laureate. Ernst was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1991 for his contributions towards the development of Fourier transform nuclear magnetic re ...

(Nobel prize 1991). Later, Jeener introduced a variant of 2DNMR, today known as Nuclear Overhauser Effect Spectroscopy (NOESY), that gives detailed information about the spin-lattice relaxation matrix, and about the spatial relation between

atoms Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons. Every solid, liquid, gas, an ...

in complex molecules. 2DNMR and its multi-dimensional extensions reveal so much more information about the chemical and physical environment of the spins that they have since been used in almost all fields of NMR. Among other applications, they enable detailed reconstruction of the 3-dimensional structure of complex biological macro molecules.

Recognition

Jeener is recipient of several distinctions, including the Prix Quinquennal of the Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (Prix Dr. A. De Leeuw-Damry-Bourlart), the Prix Ampère, the ISMAR Prize, and the

Russell Varian Prize The Russell Varian Prize was an international scientific prize awarded for a single, high-impact and innovative contribution in the field of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), that laid the foundation for the development of new technologies in the fi ...

. He is

Doctor Honoris Causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

of ETH-Zürich. The Jean Jeener NMR Centre, inaugurated in 2010 at the

Vrije Universiteit Brussel The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) () is a Dutch and English-speaking research university located in Brussels, Belgium.The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is one of the five universities officially recognised by the Flemish Community, Flemish gov ...

, is named after him.The Jean Jeener NMR Centre

Selected journal publications

* * *

Bibliography

References

External links

Home page of J. Jeener (under construction)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jeener, Jean 1931 births Living people Belgian chemists Belgian physicists Scientists from Brussels