LSU-Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center Dr. Charles M. Smith Medical and Health Physics Program

Brief History of the Program

Our Medical Physics and Health Physics Program started in 1980 as collaboration between the LSU Nuclear Science Center and Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center (MBPCC), a community-owned, nonprofit cancer treatment, education, and research facility. Since 1980, we have offered an MS curriculum in Medical Physics and Health Physics. In 1999, the Medical Physics and Health Physics Program merged into the LSU Department of Physics & Astronomy.

The partnership with MBPCC was further strengthened in 2004 when LSU and MBPCC signed a formal agreement to recreate our partnership as an integrated academic-community cancer center model for medical physics education and research. This renewal resulted in substantial expansion in terms of program faculty and resources, including the joint hire of a new Program Director whose time is split between LSU and MBPCC. Currently, the Program Director is Wayne Newhauser, PhD. Philanthropic efforts also resulted in the creation of the Dr. Charles M. Smith Chair of Medical Physics, held by the current Program Director.

Our MS program has been accredited by CAMPEP since 2006. A dedicated PhD curriculum in Medical Physics was added in 2011, receiving CAMPEP accreditation that same year. A medical physics residency program created by MBPCC received its CAMPEP accreditation in 2012.