Coutrakon George B

George Coutrakon received the B.S. degree in physics and mathematics from the University of Colorado in Boulder, CO, USA, in 1976, and the Ph.D. degree in physics from Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA, in 1983. From 1983 to 1987, he was a Research Associate with the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, IL, USA. Starting in 1987, he led the effort at Fermilab to build the first prototype beam delivery system for proton therapy Center. In 1990, he moved to Loma Linda, CA, USA, to commission that same system for patient treatments at the Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLUMC). In 1991, he became the Director of the Proton Accelerator Operations for the LLUMC Proton Therapy Center. He was a member of the Technical Advisory Committee for proton beam development at LLUMC. In 2008, he joined the Physics Department, Northern Illinois University (NIU), DeKalb, IL, USA as the Technical Director of the Northern Illinois Proton Treatment and Research Center. Since 2014, he has been a Professor of physics with NIU. He has been a consultant for seven new proton facilities worldwide, including Massachusetts General Hospital’s Proton Therapy Center. He has supervised six physics graduate students to complete their M.S. degrees and is currently supervising two students towards their Ph.D. degrees. His research interests include microdosimetry, radiation biology, and beamline/nozzle development for pencil beam scanning. Since 2008, his research has been focused on development of proton CT and proton radiography with an emphasis on optimizing image reconstruction algorithms and image quality. Dr. Coutrakon served as the Co-PI for the Department of Defense grant entitled “Particle Therapy Research and Treatment.”