Dr. Thomas Vaughan is a professor in the Departments of Radiology, Electrical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Vaughan administers the Engineering Core of the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research. After receiving two B.S. degrees in electrical engineering and biology at Auburn University, Dr. Vaughan went to work for NASA at Kennedy Space Center. Following the first Space Shuttle launch, Dr. Vaughan was recruited for a DOD project at Texas Instruments in Dallas before continuing his graduate education and employment at the University of Texas Southwestern. Here he worked as the RF Engineer on a project to construct the first 2 tesla(T)human MRI system begun in 1984. In 1989 Dr. Vaughan took the post of Chief Engineer for a University of Alabama – Philips Research Labs consortium to build the first 4T system sited in the U.S. Dr Vaughan received his doctoral degree in Biomedical Engineering from the UAB in 1993, after which he accepted the positions of Assistant Professor at Harvard University and Assistant in Physics and Director of Engineering at the Massachusetts General Hospital NMR Center. Following a four year term at the MGH to help commission a 3T system and launch a 7T program, Dr. Vaughan accepted tenure at the University of Minnesota in 1999 where he continues to advance MRI/MRS technology and methods to 4T, 7T, 9.4T and beyond.