BME Distinguished Lecture Series: Kirk Shung, University of Southern California

Friday, May 17, 2019 - 12:00 p.m. to Saturday, May 18, 2019 - 11:55 a.m.
McDonnell Douglas Engineering Auditorium (MDEA)
K. Kirk Shung, Ph.D.

Professor and Chair
Biomedical Engineering
University of Southern California

Abstract: Acoustic tweezer, the counterpart of optical tweezer in acoustics, was developed more than 10 years later than optical tweezer. It has been found to be capable of performing many tasks similar to optical tweezer, but substantial differences also exist. Because of its larger wavelength, acoustic tweezer manipulates larger particles and yields larger forces in the nanonewton range. A number of biomedical applications have been studied, including measuring intercellular forces and cellular mechanical properties. These results, along with its physical principles, will be discussed in this talk.

Bio: Shung obtained a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from University of Washington in 1975. He was a faculty member at Penn State University for 23 years before moving to USC. He has been the director of the NIH Resource on Medical Ultrasonic Transducer TEchnology since 1997. He has authored more than 250 papers and three books. Shung currently conducts research primarily in the area of high-frequency ultrasonic imaging and transducer development supported by an NIH National Resource grant on transducer technology. Its thrust is on developing high-frequency ultrasonic transducers and arrays, which with improved spatial resolution, can be used for dermatological, ophthalmological and intravascular imaging and small animal imaging.