An appreciation of the benefits of a Hunt Fellowship

I was awarded the Hunt Fellowship in 2000-01 as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Rochester working under the supervision of Robert Waag. My research during the Fellowship experimentally analyzed methods of compensating for focus aberration in medical ultrasound imaging using multirow and matrix transducer arrays. I was subsequently recruited to a faculty position at Western University in London, Ontario, at the time Western established its Biomedical Engineering program, which I currently direct while continuing to conduct research in biomedical ultrasound. One of the enduring benefits I acquired during my Fellowship was to develop my skill at and appreciation of precise scientific communication, which are characteristics Professor Waag instilled in all of his trainees. Another valuable benefit the Fellowship granted me was an opportunity to begin forming my own scientific network through the ASA and other organizations. Holding the Hunt Fellowship provided me both encouragement and financial resources to become more active in the biomedical ultrasonics research community, which was a key step toward launching my academic career.