This past October, the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) recognized individuals who have contributed to the field of medical, scientific or engineering work-related ultrasound. Iowa State University Associate Professor Timothy Bigelow was honored by being promoted to an AIUM Fellow. Bigelow was nominated by existing fellow members and has been a senior member of AIUM for over six years.
AIUM is a professional society that brings together both basic scientists and clinicians. Bigelow first got involved in 2006 after his advisor, who was also a part of AIUM, sparked his interest. Bigelow said he wanted to be able to work in an area that would impact human health.
“I have developed new ways to diagnose disease from ultrasound images and have helped pioneer a new type of therapy, called histotripsy, based on ultrasound,” Bigelow said. “Histotripsy was originally developed at the University of Michigan, but I have worked as one of the few other groups to understand the therapy and apply it to new problems, such as the treatment of infections on medical implants.”
Prior to coming to Iowa State, Bigelow received his undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from Colorado State University in 1998. He later received both his master’s and doctorate degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2001 and 2004, respectively.
In the future, Bigelow – who has joint appointments in Electrical and Computer Engineering and Mechanical Engineering – plans to stay involved in the various committees and communities of ultrasound practice and research.
“As a faculty member, I always have future plans related to my research, and I do plan to continue to be involved in the society,” Bigelow said.