November 9, 2023

UOW Professor receives international award for radiation instrumentation

Distinguished Professor Anatoly Rozenfeld received the prestigious Glenn F. Knoll Radiation Instrumentation Outstanding Achievement Award by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society (NPSS) at a ceremony in Vancouver on Monday 6 November.

Professor Rozenfeld is an internationally recognized leader in the field of semiconductor radiation dosimetry for medical and space applications. He is a Distinguished Professor of Medical Physics, and the Director and Founder of the Centre for Medical Radiation Physics at the University of Wollongong (UOW). He has been instrumental in growing the discipline of radiation physics at UOW and has nurtured the Centre to become the largest education and research institution in the field in Australasia and the Pacific.

The Award recognises Professor Rozenfeld’s outstanding and enduring contributions to the field of semiconductor detectors and radiation instrumentation, particularly the MOSkin, invented by Professor Rozenfeld and taken to market by Electrogenics Labs, which has become the gold standard for skin dosimetry on a patient. MOSkin is a novel, small medical dosimeter which provides real time, highly accurate measurements of medical radiation dose during procedures including external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy.

In the field of dosimetry over the last 10 years, Professor Rozenfeld is the most published scientist in Australia, and third most published globally.

Professor Rozenfeld said he was honoured to be a recipient of a such prestigious award from IEEE Nuclear Physics and Plasma Science Society, to which he has been a professional contributor for more than 30 years.

“For me this award is special because named in honour of Glenn F. Knoll, a professor of nuclear engineering and radiological sciences at the University of Michigan, an outstanding leader and innovator in the field of radiation detectors and instrumentation for medical application.  

“I met Glenn in 1991 on my first visit to the USA for the IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference in Santa Fe where I was invited to become the first ex-Soviet member of IEEE NPSS.

“We became good colleagues and friends, and I learned a lot from Glenn about radiation detectors and their applications and innovations in tertiary education through strong involvement of students in research. I later applied this to the medical radiation physics courses I developed at University of Wollongong.

“Glenn’s textbook Radiation Detection and Measurements is a ‘bible’ for each student at UOW’s Centre for Medical Radiation Physics.

“This award would not be possible without the hard work of my outstanding team at the Centre for Medical Radiation Physics and many colleagues at University of Wollongong. I am delighted to continue my professional service to NPSS as a Life Senior Member and contributing further for production of outstanding graduates in medical radiation and health physics at University of Wollongong,” Professor Rozenfeld said. Professor Michael Lerch, Head of the School of Physics and a Deputy Director of the Centre for Medical Radiation Physics, nominated Professor Rozenfeld for the award.

 “It was an absolute pleasure to nominate Distinguished Professor Rozenfeld for this prestigious international award. The award recognises Professor Rozenfeld’s ongoing contribution to the field of research in solid state electronic dosimetry in medical physics. The development and commercialisation of Australian-designed radiation instrumentation for mini-dosimetry and micro-dosimetry is particularly important, and relevant for application in the emerging radiation medicine, space and nuclear industry sectors.

“Professor Rozenfeld has pioneered developments and led this direction in Australia since arriving here 30 years ago. Professor Rozenfeld’s achievements in radiation instrumentation development are matched by an incredible commitment and outstanding track record in the education and training of domestic and international undergraduates and early career researchers, which is globally recognised.”

In 2022 Professor Rozenfeld was named Outstanding Cancer Researcher of the Year at the NSW Premier’s Research Awards, hosted by the Cancer Institute NSW.

He has invented, developed and led instrument prototyping and clinical implementation of the MOSkin detectors, high spatial resolution 1D and 2D silicon monolithic detectors (Dose Magnifying Glass and Magic Plate) and BrachyView rectum probe based on Timepix/Medipix detectors for real-time QA on medical linear accelerator and brachytherapy. MOSkin sensor technology was adapted for mass fabrication on a microelectronics foundry and went through regulatory approvals. MOSkin reduces potential errors in radiation dose that can lead to over- or underdosing patients which can seriously affect quality of life and cancer treatment outcomes. The device accurately measures the amount of radiation at the skin and reduces unwanted side effects, skin burns and damage to surrounding tissues.