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James G. Miller, Ph.D., professor of physics in Arts & Sciences and a leader in studies of the heart's physical properties, has been named the first Albert Gordon Hill Professor of Physics. A formal installation ceremony will be held in spring 2000.
"Jim is a splendid teacher and an innovative scholar," said Edward S. Macias, Ph.D., executive vice chancellor and dean of Arts & Sciences. "In bringing to the classroom the excitement of his research in physics and medicine, he has inspired his students to outstanding achievement, and his work has had great influence on the fields of both physics and medicine.
"He exemplifies the very best qualities that our faculty could have," Macias concluded, "and I am delighted that he will become the first Albert Gordon Hill Professor of Physics."
Miller graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in physics from St. Louis University in 1964 and received a master's in 1966 and a doctorate in 1969, both from Washington University. He joined the faculty here in 1970 as assistant professor of physics, was promoted to associate professor in 1972 and to full professor in 1977. He was named director of the Laboratory for Ultrasonics in 1987. Miller also is research professor at the School of Medicine and professor of biomedical engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science.
Miller's research focuses on the physics of anisotropic, inherently inhomogeneous media. One example of such a medium is the human heart. Miller's systematic study of the anisotropic properties of the heart has led to fundamentally new insights into the interaction of ultrasonic waves with myocardial tissue. These insights have provided the basis for significantly improved diagnostic images of the hearts of patients and have been incorporated into commercially available echocardiographic imagers in widespread use throughout the world.
In 1998 the National Institutes of Health grant supporting this research was awarded the coveted MERIT (Method to Extend Research in Time) status.
Miller is the author of some 110 refereed manuscripts in critically reviewed journals and a similar number of review articles, conference proceedings and book chapters. He was named a fellow of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine in 1986, a fellow of the Acoustical Society of America in 1990 and a fellow of the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) in 1998, a rank held by fewer than 2 percent of the group's 312,000 members.
For the past 25 years he has served on the Technical Program Committee for two international ultrasonics meetings. Miller is widely respected for his ability to communicate technically complex, interdisciplinary material to diverse audiences and frequently delivers invited lectures at major national and international meetings.
For more than two decades, he has shared the results of his research with University undergraduates in a course titled "Physics of the Heart." Although Miller has taught physics courses at every level, he is especially well known for "Physics of the Heart," designed for undergraduates interested in the life sciences who have completed the traditional one-year introductory physics sequence. For this course, Miller received the 1989 Faculty Teaching Award from the Council of Students of Arts & Sciences.
The Albert Gordon Hill Professorship in Physics was established in 1997 by way of a generous bequest from Hill, who earned an B.S. in mechanical engineering in 1930 and an M.A. in physics in 1934, both from the University. His doctorate in physics is from the University of Rochester in 1937. He began his career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1937, rising during 47 years from physics instructor to professor emeritus. He was the director of MIT's Research Laboratory of Electronics, which developed radar for use in World War II, and served as chairman of the board of the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, which was concerned with space exploration and defense research.
Hill has been described as a man of vision, with a strong belief in political and intellectual freedom, both of which he defended throughout his career in government service and academia. He was honored with a number of awards for his service to the United States, including the Presidential Certificate of Merit (1948), the Air Force Distinguished Civilian Service Medal (1955) and the Secretary of Defense Distinguished Civilian Service Award in 1959.
He also was awarded the Washington University Distinguished Alumni citation in 1955. Hill's association with Washington University has deep roots: His grandmother's uncle was Wayman Crow who, together with William Greenleaf Eliot, was responsible for the University's founding.
