Page 37 - Winter 2009

Tyrone Porter
rocarbon nanoemulsions in enhanced ultrasound induced lesion formation for cancer therapy.” BRIGE grants are intended “to increase the diversity of researchers in engineering disciplines to initiate research programs early in their careers, including those from underrepresented groups, engineers at minority serving institutions, and per- sons with disabilities.”
Focused ultrasound (FUS) is a non- invasive medical procedure for the treat- ment of localized solid tumors. The objectives of the proposed research are to 1) elucidate the relationship between PSNE density, acoustic pressure, and the evolution of bubble clouds, and 2) inves- tigate the relationship between the size and activity of the cavitation field and the spatial evolution of lesions. A gradu- ate course on the fundamental princi- ples and applications of medical acoustics will be developed. The course will cover acoustic wave propagation and absorption in viscoelastic media, and bioeffects associated with acoustic cavitation, including enhanced heat deposition in tissue and permeabiliza- tion of cell membranes for drug and gene delivery. One graduate student will receive training on the synthesis of nanoemulsions and acoustic techniques and numerical methods for investigat- ing the role of cavitating bubbles in ultrasound-mediated hyperthermia. Additionally, research opportunities will be made available for underrepresented minority undergraduate students dur- ing the summer months. Finally, out- reach efforts will be made to expose underrepresented minority students from local high schools to fundamental
acoustics, energy conversion, phase transitions, and basic engineering design. This will be achieved in two stages: (1) lectures and hands-on demonstrations will be developed to describe basic acoustics and optics, and (2) students will construct and test the acoustic properties of a custom- designed ultrasound contrast agent.
Professor Porter is Assistant Professor at Boston University (BU) where he is affiliated with the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering and the BU Department of Biomedical Engineering. He received a Ph.D. in bioengineering from the University of Washington in 2003. He was the National Society of Black Engineers’ Graduate Student of the Year (2002) and received the Acoustical Society of America (ASA) Frederick V. Hunt Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Acoustics (2003) and the R. Bruce Lindsay Award in 2008. He joined the Boston University faculty in 2006 after completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Cincinnati.
Gunnar Rasmussen is the 2009 Richard C. Heyser Distinguished Lecturer
Gunnar Rasmussen presented The Richard C. Heyser distinguished lec- ture at the 126th AES Convention in Munich, Germany in May 2009. The title of his lecture was, “The Reproduction of Sound Starts at the Microphone.”
Gunnar Rasmussen, a pioneer in the construction of acoustic instru- mentation, particularly of micro- phones, transducers, vibration and
Gunnar Rasmussen
related devices was employed at Brüel & Kjær Denmark as an electronics engineer immediately after his gradua- tion in 1950. After holding various positions in development, testing, and quality control, he spent one year in the United States working for Brüel & Kjær in sales and service. After his return to Denmark in the mid-1950s he began the development of a new measure- ment microphone. This resulted in a superior mechanical stability, increased temperature, and long term stability. In 1994 Rasmussen started his own com- pany, G.R.A.S. Sound and Vibration. Originally a company specializing in precision Outdoor Microphones for permanent noise monitoring around airports, it is now one of the world’s leading companies in acoustic front- ends and transducers.
Gunnar Rasmussen received the Danish Design Award in 1969 for his novel design of the microphones that were exhibited at the New York Museum of Modern Art. He also devel- oped the first acoustically optimized sound level meter, where the shape of the body was designed to minimize the effect of reflections from the casing to the microphone. Other major inven- tions and designs include the Delta Shear accelerometer, the dual piston pis- tonphone calibrator for precision cali- bration, the face-to-face sound intensity probe and hydrophones, occluded ears, artificial mouth, etc. Rasmussen is also the author of numerous papers on acoustics and vibration and has served as chairman and vice-chairman of vari- ous international organizations and standard committees.
He is a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America and received the CETIM medal for his contribution to the field of intensity techniques in 1990. He was also recipient of the Lifetime Achievements in Acoustics Award from the European Acoustics Association in 2008.
Pantelis Vassilakis joins Columbia College Chicago
Pantelis Vassilakis has joined Columbia College Chicago as the new Chair of the Audio and Arts and Acoustics department. Columbia College Chicago, an urban institution committed to opportunity and excel-
36 Acoustics Today, October 2009