Ernst blev født i [[Winterthur]] i [[Schweiz]], og modtog [[nobelprisen i kemi]] i 1991 for sine bidrag til bekæmpelse af udviklingen af [[Fouriertransformation|fouriertransformeret]] [[NMR-spektroskopi]]<ref name="Aue1976">{{cite journal|last1=Aue|first1=W. P.|title=Two-dimensional spectroscopy. Application to nuclear magnetic resonance|journal=The Journal of Chemical Physics|volume=64|issue=5|year=1976|pages=2229|issn=0021-9606|doi=10.1063/1.432450|bibcode=1976JChPh..64.2229A}}</ref> mens han arbejdede hos [[Varian Associates]] i [[Palo Alto]] og dne efterfølgende udvikling af multidimensionelle NMR-teknikker.<ref>[http://www.vega.org.uk/video/programme/21 Freeview video interview with Richard Ernst by the Vega Science Trust]</ref><ref>[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1991/ernst-interview.html Interview with Professor Richard R. Ernst by Joanna Rose, science writer, 8 December 2001.]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nobel.se/chemistry/laureates/1991/index.html |title=The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1991 |access-date=18. juni 2018 |archive-date=16. december 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011216090741/http://www.nobel.se/chemistry/laureates/1991/index.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=autobio>[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1991/ernst-autobio.html Ernst Autobiography at nobelprize.org]</ref><ref name=Ernstbio>{{cite web|last=Ernst|first=Richard, R|title=Richard R. Ernst|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1991/|publisher=NobelPrize.org|accessdate=18. juli 2015}}</ref> Metoderne kan både bruges i NMR og [[MR-scanning]].<ref name=formemrs>{{cite web|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151011205548/https://royalsociety.org/people/richard-ernst-11404/|archivedate=2015-10-11|url=https://royalsociety.org/people/richard-ernst-11404/|title=Professor Richard Ernst ForMemRS|publisher=[[Royal Society]]|location=London}}</ref>
Kemi