Engineering dean named May Professor
evin Parker, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, has been named the William F. May Professor of Engineering. An expert in medical imaging, linear and nonlinear acoustics, and image processing, he is professor of electrical and computer engineering, radiology, and bioengineering.
A renowned educator and researcher, Parker holds 13 patents, including one for a process known as the Blue Noise Mask that aids in the rapid creation of high-quality halftones and governs how printers, fax machines, and other devices lay down particles of toner or ink in ways that the eye finds attractive.
In the field of ultrasound imaging, he developed a new system to detect small tumors of the liver, prostate, and spleen. The research describing the system was cited as the best paper in 1990 by the World Federation of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology. As director of the Rochester Center for Biomedical Ultrasound, Parker was instrumental in creating the International Conference on Imaging and attracting scientists and physicians to the new discipline of elastography—imaging the elastic properties of tissues and tumors.
During his seven years as dean, Parker oversaw the endowment of five new positions across the engineering departments and helped establish the Department of Biomedical Engineering, which linked engineering with clinical medicine and bridged scholarship between the River Campus and the Medical Center. In 2000, he cofounded VirtualScopics as a spin-off of research developed between the School of Medicine and Dentistry and the School of Engineering.
Parker has received awards and recognition from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, Lilly Teaching Endowment, Whitaker Foundation-Biomedical Engineering Grant, IBM Supercomputing Competition, World Federation of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, Eastman Kodak Company, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM).
Parker is a member of the Institute of IEEE, Acoustical Society of America (ASA), and AIUM. He was named a fellow of both the IEEE and the AIUM for his work in medical imaging, and a fellow of ASA for his work in acoustics.
The May professorship was established in 1980 to honor William May '37, a Board of Trustees member and former chairman and CEO of the American Can Company. May graduated from the University with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering.
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