Arthur Gmitro, PhD

Arthur F. Gmitro, PhD, was a professor emeritus and the former department head of Biomedical Engineering in the College of Engineering at the University of Arizona. He held joint appointments as a professor of radiology and imaging sciences and optical sciences at the University of Arizona. 

Dr. Gmitro received his PhD in optical sciences from the University of Arizona in 1982 under the mentorship of Dr. Harrison H. Barrett. He was an assistant professor of diagnostic radiology at Yale University from 1982 to 1987 and returned to join the University of Arizona faculty in 1987. Dr. Gmitro was involved in medical imaging research for over 40 years and published more than 80 papers in the field.

Dr. Gmitro was a recipient of the International Society for Optics and Photonics Rudolf and Hilda Kingslake Award in Optical Design and won the Francois Erbsmann Prize from IPMI (Information Processing in Medical Imaging). Dr. Gmitro was also a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering.

In 2016, Dr. Gmitro was selected out of six accomplished scientists as the 2016 honorary lecturer for University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson’s Founders Day. Established in 1979, Founders Day is an occasion dedicated to recognizing individuals whose scientific contributions have allowed the College of Medicine – Tucson to grow, thrive and fulfill its vision.

Dr. Gmitro’s major areas of research were in biomedical optical imaging and magnetic resonance imaging. He did fundamental work on the development of these technologies and directed a research program in these areas. Dr. Gmitro served as the primary mentor for 23 doctoral and four postdoc students. Dr. Gmitro was the founding director of the NIH-supported Training Program in Biomedical Imaging and Spectroscopy at the University of Arizona. He developed and taught four graduate-level courses in biomedical imaging (Biomedical Imaging – BME516, Introduction to Image Science – OPTI536, Advanced Medical Imaging – OPTI/BME 638, and Biomedical Optics and Biophotonics – OPTI/BME 630).