William Nelson Beck (1923-1996)
Joliet Herald News article from 1996 | Discovery of Ultrasound | Argonne National Lab Official site | Obituary
Joliet Physicist's work changed medical world
William Nelson "Nels" Beck was a modest man. The Joliet man never bragged
about the contribution that he had given the world. Even his own son didn't
know until a few years ago.
In 1957, Beck, a physicist, was conducting an experiment at Argonne National
Labratory. He was working on a scanner for production volume testing of
reactor fuel elements. He substituted his arm for a fuel element and adjusted
the sensitivity of the recording unit. He could distinguish flesh from bone
on the electrosensitive paper. He had a picture. And ultrasound had been
discovered.
Article appeared in Joliet Herald News, front page, June 22, 1996.