[2] Pines was a pioneer in the development and applications of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy of non-liquid samples.

In his early work, he demonstrated time-reversal of dipole-dipole couplings in many-body spin systems, and introduced high sensitivity, cross polarization NMR of dilute spins such as carbon-13 in solids (Proton Enhanced Nuclear Induction Spectroscopy), thereby helping to launch the era of modern solid-state NMR in chemistry.

The second component of his research program involves the application of such novel methods to problems in chemistry, materials science, and biomedicine.

In 2005, an Ampere Symposium was held in honor of Pines' 60th birthday in Chamonix, France, and in 2008, he was awarded the Russell Varian Prize at the European Magnetic Resonance Conference.

(Previous Varian Prizes winners: Jean Jeener, Erwin Hahn,[5] Nicolaas Bloembergen, John.