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2019 AAPM Honorary Member Award

Over the years, the AAPM has recognized outstanding MD colleagues for honorary membership. Belonging to that group is Dr. Carl E. Ravin, the former Chair of Radiology at Duke University.

In a luminary career through University of Utah, Yale, and eventually Duke, Dr. Ravin established his exceptional leadership qualities at each institution, leading to a 23-year tenure as the Chair of Radiology at Duke and eventually the head of the Duke physicians group, Private Diagnostic Clinic. Throughout his path Dr. Ravin he established himself as an exceptional leader, serving as the president of the Fleischner Society, the president of the Society of Chairmen of Academic Radiology Departments (SCARD), and the member of numerous boards of directors. Dr. Ravin has formed a lasting mark on the discipline of radiology, not only by his exemplary leadership, but also by his role in the development and advancement of thoracic radiology as a distinct and prominent sub-specialty. With over 220 referred publications, Dr. Ravin was the impetus behind the development of chest-specific imaging systems and technologies for improved thoracic imaging.

In line with his visionary leadership, Dr. Ravin has been an outstanding advocate for the field of medical physics. It was his vision and support that led to the formation of the Duke Advanced Imaging Laboratories in 1990. In its nearly 30-year history, this primarily medical physics lab has been the impetus of 10s of extramural grants, the education vehicle for 10s of graduate students, and the initiator of over 600 referred articles. Most notably, the lab has been instrumental in the emergence and development of numerous new technologies in imaging including digital radiography, tomosynthesis, dual-energy imaging, CAD, and virtual trials. His vision and contribution was so significant that in 2009, the Chancellor of Health Affairs at Duke, Victor Dzau, renamed the lab after him as the Carl E. Ravin Advanced Imaging Laboratories.

But perhaps most noteworthy of Dr. Ravin’s contributions to the field of medical physics is his vision in the formation of the Duke Medical Physics Graduate Program in 2005. It was his vision and unwavering support, both logistically and financially, that made this program possible.  With now in existence for over 13 years, the program has graduated over 200 medical physicists, scattered throughout the world in various medical physics professions, led to 100s of new scholarships, and contributed to excellence in the posture and practice of medical physics. Throughout his career, Dr. Ravin has been a staunch advocate for the role of physics in medicine. The Duke Medical Physics Program congratulates Dr. Ravin for this deserved recognition.