The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1979 was
awarded jointly to Allan M. Cormack and Godfrey N. Hounsfield "for
the development of computer assisted tomography."
Allan MacLeod Cormack, (born Feb. 23, 1924, Johannesburg, S.Af. —
died May 7, 1998, Winchester, Mass., U.S.), South African-born
American physicist who, with Godfrey Hounsfield, was awarded the
1979 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his work in developing
the powerful new diagnostic technique of computerized axial
tomography (CAT). Cormack was unusual in the field of Nobel laureates
because he never earned a doctorate degree in medicine or any other
field of science.