New Jersey Institute of Technology Professor Elected a Fellow of IEEE
Atam Dhawan, Ph.D., chair and professor of the department of electrical and computer engineering at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), has been elected a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for his breakthrough research in the field of optical imaging.
Being elected Fellow is one of the Institute’s most prestigious honors and the highest grade of membership. Each year, following a rigorous evaluation, the IEEE Fellow Committee recommends a select group of recipients to be Fellows.
Dhawan, of Randoph, was cited by the IEEE Fellow Committee for “contributions to optical imaging of skin-lesions and multi-modality medical image analysis.”
“As a successful researcher and scientist,” the citation read, “Dhawan has made several significant contributions in medical imaging and image analysis.”
Dhawan has invented an optical instrument, called a Nevoscope, for imaging skin-lesions for early detection of skin-cancer, the citation noted. The Nevoscope has been commercialized by Translite Inc., of Houston, Texas, which is using it to develop a line of products for skin-lesion and vein imaging.
Dhawan’s research has shown how optical wavelengths can be used for multi-spectral imaging of skin-lesions, which in turn can help with the early detection of skin-cancer. He has also developed several medical image algorithms, which have been used for diagnostic radiological applications, including the enhancement of mammographic images as well as the tissue characterization of brain images.
This isn’t the first time that Dhawan has been recognized for his research. Throughout his career, Dhawan’s research has been recognized by NIH, IEEE, and professional societies. He received the First Prize and the Martin Epstien Award at the International Conference on Computer Applications sponsored by the biomedical and medical professional societies in 1984; the NIH First Independent Research, Science and Technology Award in 1988; the Sigma-Xi Young Investigator Award in 1992, given by Sigma Xi, the national scientific research honor society; and the IEEE Early Career Achievement Award in 1995 for his work in 3-D optical imaging, reconstruction and characterization of skin-lesions.
Dhawan has published more than 150 research papers in refereed journals and conference proceedings. In addition, he has published five book chapters and three books. His most recent book, Medical Image Analysis, was published jointly by John Wiley Publishers and IEEE Press in June 2003.