(Left to right) Vice Dean for Academic Programs Erik Johnson, Ballhaus Prize winner Yushun Zeng, USC Board of Councilors member William F. Ballhaus Jr., Dean Yannis C. Yortsos and BME Professor Qifa Zhou (Photo/Noe Montes)
Yushun Zeng still remembered the first time he saw what ultrasound could reveal; and what it could not.
“Even with today’s technology, there are still gaps in resolution and accuracy,” he said. “That’s where engineering can make a real difference.”
On Wednesday morning, Zeng crossed the stage at Bovard Auditorium to receive his doctorate from the USC Alfred E. Mann Department of Biomedical Engineering. The winner of the William F. Ballhaus Jr. Prize for Excellence in Graduate Engineering Research, he focused his research on ultrasound transducers: the devices that send and receive sound waves to create images inside the human body; tools used every day in hospitals and clinics.
His dissertation, “Advanced Ultrasound Transducers: From Design and Fabrications to Biomedical Applications,” aimed to improve how those transducers function, making them more sensitive and precise. The result: clearer images for physicians and better outcomes for patients.
