Diane Dalecki, associate professor of biomedical engineering, has been appointed the new director of the Rochester Center for Biomedical Ultrasound (RCBU) at the University of Rochester. Created in 1986, the RCBU provides a unique environment where researchers from many institutions can join together to investigate the use of very high frequency sound waves in medical diagnosis and therapy.
Dalecki is an expert on the interaction between ultrasound and biological systems. She works to advance diagnostic ultrasound and discover new therapeutic applications of ultrasound in medicine and biology. She teaches foundational and advanced coursework in biomedical engineering, including introductory courses on biomedical engineering and biomedical ultrasound, and advises graduate and undergraduate student research on topics in biomedical ultrasound. She has received numerous teaching honors, including the Goergen Award for Excellence and Artistry in Undergraduate Education.
A leader in the field of biomedical ultrasound research, Dalecki completed her education at the University of Rochester, receiving her bachelor's degree in chemical engineering, and master's and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering.
Dalecki is a fellow of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM), and is active in the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). She is currently on the AIUM Board of Governors and has served as chair of the AIUM Bioeffects Committee.
She succeeds Kevin J. Parker, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, who has been the director since 1990.
"We are greatly fortunate to have Diane Dalecki as the next director of the RCBU," says Parker. "She has worked closely with the founding director, Dr. Edwin Carstensen, over the years, and has established herself as a leading national figure in ultrasound. Her work covers the entire range from sonar to high frequency ultrasound. She was the first person in the world to pace heartbeats with pulsed ultrasound. The RCBU will achieve many important milestones under her direction," says Parker.
Founding RCBU Director Edwin Carstensen says, "The University and the biomedical ultrasound community are fortunate to have Professor Diane Dalecki as the center's new director. In addition to her fundamental contributions to basic knowledge in biomedical ultrasound, she has contributed to many aspects of University life from her days as an undergraduate student in chemical engineering. She is today one of our best teachers and played a key role in the development of the Department of Biomedical Engineering. We can look forward to a new surge of excellence in the center under her direction. I'd like to add my personal thanks to Dean Parker, for more than a decade and a half of excellent leadership and selfless devotion to the center."
The RCBU unites ultrasound professionals from the medical, engineering, and applied science communities at the University of Rochester, Rochester General Hospital, and Rochester Institute of Technology.
For more information, contact Betsy Christiansen at (585) 275-9542 or at betsyc@ece.rochester.edu.