The Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging is an interdisciplinary research institution dedicated to the advancement of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for both cognitive neuroscience and medical diagnosis and treatment. It was founded in July 2005 by the University Duisburg-Essen (Germany) and the Radboud University Nijmegen (The Netherlands). Located on the grounds of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Zollverein in the Northeast of the city of Essen, Germany, the institute opened for operation in October 2006.

The institute is named after Erwin L. Hahn, a physicist who has made innumerable contributions to the field of magnetic resonance. Born in 1921 in the USA, he is probably best known for the discovery of the "spin echo", which represents one of the most fundamental methods of signal formation in magnetic resonance imaging.

The industrial complex Zollverein is a former coal mine and coke processing plant which represents an industry which dominated the industrialization of the Ruhr area in Germany during the 19th and 20th centuries. Many of the buildings were designed by the architects Fritz Schupp and Martin Kremmer, both internationally renowned for their industrial architecture designs.

The institute itself is housed in the former control station of the Zollverein coke processing plant, where the former industrial character has been synthesized with a modern research environment. The centerpiece of the institute is a 7 Tesla whole-body magnet resonance imager from Siemens Medical Solutions, Erlangen, Germany. In contrast to the magnetic resonance imagers used in hospitals and clinics throughout the world, which commonly operate at a magnetic field strength of 1.5 Tesla, the ultra high magnetic field strength of this imager provides significantly higher sensitivity for structural and functional measurements of the human body.

Due to many technical challenges encountered at the higher field strength, this technology has thus far been limited to a handful of research institutes throughout the world primarily conducting investigations within neuroscience. One of the main goals of the Erwin L. Hahn Institute is to extend the advantages of this technology to the entire body and facilitate widespread dissemination of 7 Tesla technology. To achieve this goal, the facilities of the institute are available to external scientists from throughout the world who wish to conduct experiments at this field strength but do not have direct access to a 7 Tesla imager.