Bio
Peter A. Lewin, M.Sc., Ph.D. is Richard B. Beard Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Biomedical Engineering at Drexel University, Philadelphia. He is also Director of the Ultrasound Research and Education Center in the School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems at Drexel University. Dr. Lewin obtained his MS degree in Electrical Engineering in 1969 and the PhD in Physical Acoustics in 1979 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Before receiving his PhD degree, he was employed by Bruel and Kjaer Corporation, Denmark, where he was involved in the development of underwater piezoelectric transducers and associated electronics. From 1978 to 1983 he was associated with the Danish Institute of Biomedical Engineering (now Force Institutes) and the University of Denmark, Copenhagen-Lyngby, where his research activities primarily focused on propagation of ultrasound waves in inhomogeneous media and development of PVDF polymer transducers. In 1983, he joined the faculty of Drexel University. He was awarded several patents in the field of ultrasound and has authored or co-authored over 250 scientific publications, most of them on topics in ultrasound, and is co-editor (with Prof. M. C. Ziskin) of "Ultrasonic Exposimetry" (CRC Press, 1993), a landmark book in the field. Dr. Lewin’s current interests are primarily in the field of biomedical ultrasonics including the design and testing of piezoelectric transducers and sensors, power ultrasonics, ultrasonic exposimetry, tissue characterization using nonlinear acoustics, biological effects of ultrasound, applications of shock waves in medicine and image reconstruction and processing. Overall, he has extensive experience in the field of ultrasonics; his research activities are currently focused on theragnostic applications of ultrasound such as development of specialty transducers for ultrasound assisted healing of chronic wounds and syringe-free, noninvasive drug delivery.
Dr. Lewin is elected Life Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). He is also a Fellow of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM), Acoustical Society of America (ASA), American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) and Elected Fellow of International Academy for Medical and Biomedical Engineering (IAMBE). He has also served as a Chair (1997-1999) of the AIUM's Technical Standards Committee and the AIUM's Board of Governors (2002-2004). In addition, Dr. Lewin serves as a consultant to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Devices and Radiological Health and was appointed to the US Technical Advisory Group of ANSI to the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). He also served as Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Ultrasound, Ferroelectrics and Frequency Control. Dr. Lewin was elected as a resource member of the prestigious Franklin Institute Science and Awards Committee, Philadelphia and in April of 2018 received the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Philadelphia Section Benjamin Franklin Key Award. The award recognizes outstanding technical innovations, which contributed to intellectual, industrial, and economic development and demonstrated human benefits. Most recently, he was tapped by the Secretary of Health to serve on the NIH Advisory Council and elected as Fellow of the College of Physicians in Philadelphia, the oldest College of Physicians that counts only a handful on non-MD Fellows in its ranks. He also received the highest recognition as a Distinguished Advocate and Fellow from The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) for seminal contributions to the field of biomedical ultrasonics and development of new piezoelectric transducers and measurement methods. Dr. Lewin is also a recipient of IEEE UFFC Achievement Award and 2022 Drexel University Provost Award for Outstanding Scholarly Productivity intended to recognize faculty members who have extraordinarily high-levels of scholarly accomplishments.
Education
- PhD, University of Denmark, Copenhagen-Lyngby, Denmark, Physical Acoustics, 1979
- MS, University of Denmark, Copenhagen-Lyngby, Denmark, Electrical Engineering, 1969
Research Interests
Ultrasonic characterization of materials, propagation of ultrasonic waves in inhomogeneous media, electro-acoustic transducers, biological effects of ultrasound, physical acoustics, and underwater acoustics