A West Virginia University math professor has received a $100,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for putting his numbers to use in the medical imaging field.

Dr. K. Chris Ciesielski will use the NSF s Interdisciplinary Grant in the Mathematical Sciences to continue his ongoing research at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center.

The mathematician has been working with the centers Department of Radiology to create a series of specific algorithmsnumeric recipes, of sortsthat will help better analyze images gathered by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) units and other high-tech diagnostic equipment used in patient care.

To analyze an MRI image, or similar X-ray or ultrasound scans, the algorithmthat recipemust be created, then implemented, as a computer program. Then, medical professionals can use it see the image and electronicallypeelaway layers to look for tumors or abnormalities, in say, the lungs or heart of a patient undergoing care.

The collection of the material and the displaying of the image can only happen with the algorithm.

From the perspective of a theoretical mathematician, which I was for the past 20 years, the importance of any research in the field of medicine is hard to describe,he said.But anything that leads to better diagnosticsand my research is going in this directionis of great value to society.

Ciesielski earned a doctorate in mathematics from Polands Warsaw University in 1985. He joined WVU in 1989, and has since written or co-written three books and nearly 100 research papers. He is also a contributing editor to Real Analysis Exchange, a leading math journal in the field.

WVU s Department of Mathematics is part of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. In addition to the NSF grant, Ciesieleski will also receive support for his research from the Eberly Family Faculty Development Fund.

For more information, contact Ciesielski at kcies@math.wvu.edu or 304-293-2011, ext. 2337.