Over his career, Georgia Tech Professor Stanislav (Stas) Emelianov has worked to develop advanced imaging methods with the ultimate goal of improving health outcomes.

His research and accomplishments have helped him to become a nationally recognized expert in biomedical imaging instrumentation and nanoagents for imaging and therapy.

The IEEE Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control Society (UFFC) recently celebrated his achievements and impact in the ultrasonics field by honoring him with the prestigious Rayleigh Award at the organization’s annual meeting in Taipei, Taiwan.

The award, which is the IEEE UFFC’s highest accolade, recognizes sustained outstanding achievements in technical innovations, research, education, publications, and professional contributions over a span of more than 25 years.

Emelianov, a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar, received the award for his seminal contributions to elasticity imaging, ultrasound-guided photoacoustic imaging, and theranostic contrast agents.

“The Rayleigh award is an honor that highlights the transformative potential of biomedical ultrasound, and it reflects collaborative efforts of my trainees, colleagues, and collaborators who have contributed to advancing diagnostic ultrasound imaging and image-guided therapy,” Emelianov said.

His work has pioneered several techniques in those research areas and are capable of detecting and diagnosing cancer and other pathologies, assisting treatment planning, and enhancing image-guided therapy and monitoring of the treatment outcome. He has also developed approaches for image-guided molecular therapy and therapeutic applications of ultrasound and electromagnetic energy.

Emelianov, holds a joint appointment in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME). He is also appointed at the Emory University School of Medicine, where he is affiliated with Winship Cancer Institute, Department of Radiology, and other clinical units

He’s authored of over 250 archival publications including peer-reviewed research articles, invited reviews and book chapters, and more than 550 proceedings, abstracts, and presentations.

Currently, he runs the Ultrasound Imaging and Therapeutics Research Laboratory, with a research focuses on cancer and other disease imagining, ranging from molecular imaging, functional imaging, and tissue differentiation to drug delivery and release, image-guided surgery, and intervention.

Emelianov was recently named the co-director of the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Pediatric Technology Center (PTC). In this role, he oversees a unique partnership that supports interdisciplinary research among clinicians, engineers, and scientists from Georgia Tech, Children’s, and Emory University. The goal is to harness the power of artificial intelligence, data science, and cutting-edge medical devices to address the most pressing challenges in pediatric healthcare.

In recognition of his groundbreaking contributions to the field, Emelianov has received several other recognitions, including Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Acoustical Society of America (OSA), and Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).

Emelianov has been with ECE since 2015. He received his undergraduate and graduate education from Moscow State University. He then completed his post-graduate work at the University of Michigan.

From 2002 to 2015, Emelianov was a faculty member in the BME and ECE Departments at the University of Texas at Austin and Department of Imaging Physics at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.