Mechanical Engineering professor F. Levent Degertekin was recently awarded the 2014 Carl Hellmuth Hertz Ultrasonic Achievement Award at the 2014 IEEE International Ultrasonics Symposium in Chicago, IL. Degertekin received the award for "contributions to micromachined ultrasonic and opto-mechanical transducers, and high speed Atomic Force Microscopy."

The IEEE Carl Hellmuth Hertz Ultrasonics Achievement award is intended for primary investigators that have contributed to the field of ultrasonics. The award candidate has an excellent track record in terms of scholarly publications, technical reports and/or inventions/patents. . This award was named for Carl Hellmuth Hertz to honor his pivotal role as both a researcher and as an advisor to others working in the field of medical diagnostic ultrasound imaging. The award is designed to recognize researchers at the mid-career stage who have made remarkable contributions to the field resulting in measurable innovation and impact.

Degertekin began at Georgia Tech in 2000 as an assistant professor. Prior, he was an engineering research associate at the E. L. Ginzton Laboratory at Stanford University. He worked in the area of acoustic microscopy, ultrasonic sensors for semiconductor processing and modeling of wave propagation in layered media before focusing on microscale devices.

Degertekin's research focuses on understanding of physical phenomena in acoustics and optics, and utilizing this knowledge creatively in the form of microfabricated devices. The research interests span several fields including atomic force microscopy (AFM), micromachined opto-acoustic devices, ultrasound imaging, bioanalytical instrumentation, and optical metrology. Dr. Degertekin's research group, in collaboration with an array of collaborators, has developed innovative devices for applications such as nanoscale material characterization and fast imaging, hearing aid microphones, intravascular imaging arrays for cardiology, bioanalytical mass spectrometry, and microscale parallel interferometers for metrology.