Albert Macovski

Biography

Dr. Albert Macovski received the 1973 IEEE Vladimir K. Zworykin Award "For contribution to single tube encoded color cameras and color television receiving circuits." Dr. Makovski is known in particular for his contributions to the field of medical imaging. He innovated the real-time phased array imaging for ultrasound, and also contributed to the development of MRI technology, CAT scans, and digital radiography. He holds over 150 patents and has written more than 200 technical articles. In addition to the Zworykin Award, Dr. Macovski is the recipient of the 1988 Peninsula Patent Attorney Association of Northern California's Inventor of the Year Award, is the Founding Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

Dr. Macovski attended City College of New York, where he received his Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering in 1905. He then went on to Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, where he earned his Master's in Electrical Engineering in 1953. Macovski began his career at RCA Laboratories upon receiving his Bachelor's degree. His work on the technical staff resulted in various improvements in television receiver circuitry. Macovski remained at RCA until 1957. After leaving RCA, he joined the faculty of Brooklyn Polytechnic.

Macovski went to Stanford University in 1960. He began at the Stanford Research Institute as a staff scientist, while also pursuing his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering. He received his doctoral degree in 1968. As a staff scientist, Macovski continued working with television technology. His invention of the single-tube color camera went on to be used in all camcorders. Another one of Macovski's major innovations was the development of television interferometry. His work also improved fax, printing, holographic, and encoded-color technologies.

In the 1970s, Macovski began his work with medical imaging systems. His improvements to x-ray, ultrasound, CAT, and MRI imaging made these technologies more detailed and accurate. These improvements also dramatically reduced the cost of these diagnostic services, making better healthcare and access to a higher quality of life more accessible to the public. Macovski is currently a Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering at Stanford.