The importance of reducing patient and worker exposure to ionizing radiation is more widely recognized, and now comes into the fore whenever new therapeutic treatment techniques are being developed. This textbook provides an overview of fundamentals with sufficient depth to be useful to developers, users, and regulators of new technologies and applications employing radiation. It addresses the fundamental aspects of the interaction of radiation with matter, the complex aspects of radiation dosimetry, various radiation detectors, and the broad area of radiation effects on humans, animals and cells.
About the Author: Paul M. DeLuca, Jr, PhD, has taught the Health Physics class at the University of Wisconsin for four decades, was the Chairman of the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurement, and is active in health physics-related research. After receiving a BS in physics and mathematics in 1966, Dr. DeLuca earned his PhD in nuclear physics from the University of Notre Dame in 1971. He joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was appointed to the faculty of the Department of Radiology in 1975. He has served as chairman of the Department of Medical Physics (1987 - 1998), Associate Dean for Research and Graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (1998 - 2000), Vice Dean of the Medical School (2000 - 2009) and Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2009 - 2014). DeLuca has held an appointment as professor in the departments of medical physics, radiology, human oncology, engineering physics and physics. Presently, he is Provost and Professor Emeritus. Dr. DeLuca is an internationally recognized expert in high-energy particle radiation effects on humans. In addition to his role on the Graduate Educations Program Review Committee of CAMPEP, DeLuca has served in many capacities to national and international organizations including the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements, the Nonproliferation and International Security Division Review Committee (DRC) at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, the American Physical Society, the Health Physics Society, the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, the Council on Ionizing Radiation Measurements and Standards, and the Institute of Physics. Bryan P.
Bednarz, PhD, is assistant professor of medical physics at the University of Wisconsin. He received a BS and MS degree from the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Science from University of Michigan, and a PhD from the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. His research focuses on solving problems that involve the interface between physics and biology.
