During his graduate studies Wüthrich started out working withelectron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy, and the subject of his PhD thesis was "thecatalytic activity ofcopper compounds in autoxidation reactions".[11] During his time as apostdoc inBerkeley he began working with the newly developed and related technique ofnuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to study the hydration ofmetal complexes. When Wüthrich joined the Bell Labs, he was put in charge of one of the firstsuperconducting NMR spectrometers, and started studying the structure and dynamics of proteins. He has pursued this line of research ever since.
After returning to Switzerland, Wüthrich collaborated with, among others, Nobel laureateRichard R. Ernst on developing the first two-dimensional NMR experiments, and established thenuclear Overhauser effect as a convenient way of measuring distances withinproteins. This research later led to the complete assignment of resonances for among others thebovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor andglucagon.
Wüthrich is a member of the Executive Advisory Board of theWorld.Minds Foundation, where he contributes to international dialogue on science, research, and innovation policy.[15]
