The first to take a nuclear magnetic resonance image (MRI) of a human body, Raymond Vahan Damadian (born 1936 in New York) eventually developed the MRI scanner as a key tool in modern medicine. Damadian earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from University of Wisconsin, Madison, and his MD from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City He also studied the violin at Juilliard for eight years. Damadian built the first-ever MRI machine, dubbed “Indomitable,” in 1977. As it proved a resounding success, Damadian launched his own company, FONAR, and in 1980 sold the first commercial MRI scanner. The Food and Drug Administration approved the device in 1984. The Lemelson-MIT Prize Program bestowed its Lifetime Achievement Award on Damadian as “the man who invented the MRI scanner.” He also received a National Medal of Technology in 1988 and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1989. “Indomitable” is now part of the Smithsonian Institution collection.