Oralkan Elected to AIMBE College of Fellows

Omer Oralkan elected to College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering for pioneering contributions in capacitative micromachined ultrasonic transducers.

The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) has announced the induction of Omer Oralkan, professor of electrical and computer engineering at NC State University to its College of Fellows.

Election to the AIMBE College of Fellows is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to medical and biological engineers, comprised of the top two percent of engineers in these fields. College membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to “engineering and medicine research, practice, or education” and to “the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of medical and biological engineering or developing/implementing innovative approaches to bioengineering education.”

Oralkan was nominated, reviewed, and elected by peers and members of the College of Fellows “for pioneering contributions in the field of capacitative micromachined ultrasonic transducers for medical imaging, medical therapeutics, and sensing.”

A formal induction ceremony was held during the AIMBE Annual Event at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel in Arlington, Virginia on March 25, 2024. Oralkan was inducted along with 162 colleagues who make up the AIMBE College of Fellows Class of 2024.

Oralkan joined the faculty at the NC State in January 2012. His research interests are at the interface of electrical engineering and the life sciences, particularly on using integrated circuits and underlying technologies to implement medical devices and supporting systems for diagnostics and therapy. More specifically, his current research focuses on developing devices and systems for ultrasound imaging, photoacoustic imaging, image-guided therapy, biological and chemical sensing, and ultrasound neural stimulation. In addition to his appointment with ECE, he is an adjunct professor of biomedical engineering with the Joint BME department.

While most AIMBE Fellows hail from the United States, the College of Fellows has inducted Fellows representing more than 30 countries. AIMBE Fellows are employed in academia, industry, clinical practice, and government.

AIMBE Fellows are among the most distinguished medical and biological engineers including 3 Nobel Prize laureates and 22 Presidential Medal of Science and/or Technology and Innovation awardees. Additionally, 214 Fellows have been inducted to the National Academy of Engineering, 117 inducted to the National Academy of Medicine, and 48 inducted to the National Academy of Sciences.

AIMBE is the authoritative voice and advocate for the value of medical and biological engineering to society. AIMBE’s mission is to recognize excellence, advance public understanding, and accelerate medical and biological innovation. No other organization brings together academic, industry, government, and scientific societies to form a highly influential community advancing medical and biological engineering. AIMBE’s mission drives advocacy initiatives into action on Capitol Hill and beyond.