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In memoriam: Frederic Louis Lizzi, Eng.Sc.D., 1942–2005
Ultrasound in Med. & Biol., Vol. 31, No. 7, pp. 881– 882, 2005 Copyright © 2005 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology Printed in the USA. All rights reserved 0301-5629/05/$–see front matter
doi:10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2005.04.010
● In Memoriam IN MEMORIAM: FREDERIC LOUIS LIZZI, ENG.SC.D., 1942–2005 ERNEST J. FELEPPA, JEFFREY A. KETTERLING Riverside Research Institute, New York, NY, USA
INTRODUCTION Frederic L. Lizzi, Eng.Sc.D., (Fig. 1) died peacefully in his home in Manhattan, New York, on Saturday, January 8, 2005. Dr. Lizzi was born December 11, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York. Dr. Lizzi received his B.A. degree in electrical engineering from Manhattan College in 1963, his M.S. degree in bioengineering from Columbia University in 1965 and his Eng.Sc.D. degree in bioengineering from Columbia University in 1971. His doctoral dissertation was entitled “Transient radiation patterns in ophthalmic ultrasound.” In 1967, Dr. Lizzi became a member of the Research Staff of Riverside Research Institute (RRI) in New York City. In 1973, he was promoted to Assistant Manager of Optics and, in 1976, he was promoted to Manager of the Biomedical Engineering Laboratories at RRI. He led the RRI biomedical engineering studies beginning in the early 1970s and became the Research Director of the Biomedical Engineering Laboratories in 1984. Dr. Lizzi held several patents in medical ultrasound (US) technology that he developed at RRI. Since 1994, he was the Chief Technical Advisor for Spectrasonics, Inc., of Wayne, PA. Dr. Lizzi was Adjunct Professor of Ophthalmic Physics at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University since 1979 and Adjunct Professor of Applied Physics at Columbia University since 1997. Dr. Lizzi was internationally recognized as a pioneering and leading investigator in advanced medical US, including diagnostic and therapeutic applications of US, which he investigated on theoretical, experimental and clinical levels. He was an active leader in several professional societies, including the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM), the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), the World Federation of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (WFUMB) and the International Society for Diagnostic Ultrasound and Ophthalmology. Dr. Lizzi was a Fellow of the AIUM and the
Fig. 1. Frederic Louis Lizzi.
ASA and served on the Board of Governors of the AIUM from 1985 to 1988 and of the International Society for Therapeutic Ultrasound from 2002 until the time of his death. He helped to organize many international scientific meetings and conferences and served as a guest editor and editorial advisor for scientific journals such as Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology and Transactions of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Dr. Lizzi received many prestigious professional awards, including the William J. Fry Memorial Award of the AIUM in 1986, the Presidential Recognition Award of the AIUM in 1988 and again in 1996, the Pioneer Award of the AIUM and WFUMB in 1988, the Mayneord Award of the British Institute of Radiology in 1990 and the Joseph Holmes Pioneer Award of the AIUM in 1994. This journal, Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, gave him the Best Clinical Paper Award in 1984 and the Best Technical Paper Award in 1986. 881
882
Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology
Dr. Lizzi was the Principal Investigator on many research projects funded by the United States National Institutes of Health, beginning in the 1970s with pioneering studies of high-frequency US in ophthalmology. In these ophthalmic investigations, Dr. Lizzi developed novel means of characterizing tissue for diagnostic purposes, and he studied safety and therapeutic aspects of high-frequency US. He actively pursued these seminal research efforts until
Volume 31, Number 7, 2005
his death, and his findings have been applied to organs such as the prostate, breast and heart, as well as to the eye in a broad range of contemporary, very-high-frequency US and high-intensity US studies, in Dr. Lizzi’s laboratories and in research centers around the world. Dr. Lizzi is survived by his wife Mary, his son Joseph, his daughter Marian, his mother, Anita Lizzi, and three sisters.
doi:10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2005.04.010
● In Memoriam IN MEMORIAM: FREDERIC LOUIS LIZZI, ENG.SC.D., 1942–2005 ERNEST J. FELEPPA, JEFFREY A. KETTERLING Riverside Research Institute, New York, NY, USA
INTRODUCTION Frederic L. Lizzi, Eng.Sc.D., (Fig. 1) died peacefully in his home in Manhattan, New York, on Saturday, January 8, 2005. Dr. Lizzi was born December 11, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York. Dr. Lizzi received his B.A. degree in electrical engineering from Manhattan College in 1963, his M.S. degree in bioengineering from Columbia University in 1965 and his Eng.Sc.D. degree in bioengineering from Columbia University in 1971. His doctoral dissertation was entitled “Transient radiation patterns in ophthalmic ultrasound.” In 1967, Dr. Lizzi became a member of the Research Staff of Riverside Research Institute (RRI) in New York City. In 1973, he was promoted to Assistant Manager of Optics and, in 1976, he was promoted to Manager of the Biomedical Engineering Laboratories at RRI. He led the RRI biomedical engineering studies beginning in the early 1970s and became the Research Director of the Biomedical Engineering Laboratories in 1984. Dr. Lizzi held several patents in medical ultrasound (US) technology that he developed at RRI. Since 1994, he was the Chief Technical Advisor for Spectrasonics, Inc., of Wayne, PA. Dr. Lizzi was Adjunct Professor of Ophthalmic Physics at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University since 1979 and Adjunct Professor of Applied Physics at Columbia University since 1997. Dr. Lizzi was internationally recognized as a pioneering and leading investigator in advanced medical US, including diagnostic and therapeutic applications of US, which he investigated on theoretical, experimental and clinical levels. He was an active leader in several professional societies, including the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM), the Acoustical Society of America (ASA), the World Federation of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (WFUMB) and the International Society for Diagnostic Ultrasound and Ophthalmology. Dr. Lizzi was a Fellow of the AIUM and the
Fig. 1. Frederic Louis Lizzi.
ASA and served on the Board of Governors of the AIUM from 1985 to 1988 and of the International Society for Therapeutic Ultrasound from 2002 until the time of his death. He helped to organize many international scientific meetings and conferences and served as a guest editor and editorial advisor for scientific journals such as Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology and Transactions of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Dr. Lizzi received many prestigious professional awards, including the William J. Fry Memorial Award of the AIUM in 1986, the Presidential Recognition Award of the AIUM in 1988 and again in 1996, the Pioneer Award of the AIUM and WFUMB in 1988, the Mayneord Award of the British Institute of Radiology in 1990 and the Joseph Holmes Pioneer Award of the AIUM in 1994. This journal, Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, gave him the Best Clinical Paper Award in 1984 and the Best Technical Paper Award in 1986. 881
882
Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology
Dr. Lizzi was the Principal Investigator on many research projects funded by the United States National Institutes of Health, beginning in the 1970s with pioneering studies of high-frequency US in ophthalmology. In these ophthalmic investigations, Dr. Lizzi developed novel means of characterizing tissue for diagnostic purposes, and he studied safety and therapeutic aspects of high-frequency US. He actively pursued these seminal research efforts until
Volume 31, Number 7, 2005
his death, and his findings have been applied to organs such as the prostate, breast and heart, as well as to the eye in a broad range of contemporary, very-high-frequency US and high-intensity US studies, in Dr. Lizzi’s laboratories and in research centers around the world. Dr. Lizzi is survived by his wife Mary, his son Joseph, his daughter Marian, his mother, Anita Lizzi, and three sisters.