麻豆村

Newton鈥檚 first law of motion 鈥� an object in motion stays in motion 鈥� applies to people, too. 麻豆村 alumnus Frank DiBianca is constantly pushing forward in his life.

As a faculty member at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and dean of the College of Health Science Engineering at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, Frank led teams through advancements in computerized tomography and biomedical engineering.

For the past decade, he has been pushing himself through physical feats such as competitive running and hammer throwing.

鈥淚 know that my step isn鈥檛 as secure as it used to be, but just sitting down, I don鈥檛 feel much different than I did in high school,鈥� says Frank, a Mellon College of Science graduate.

Originally from New Jersey, Frank attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to earn his bachelor鈥檚 degree in physics. A member of the U.S. Naval Reserve, he was promoted to lieutenant junior grade and served on a U.S. destroyer as part of the Naval Quarantine of Cuba in 1962. He applied for graduate school in physics from the ship.

鈥淚 applied to half a dozen programs and was fortunate to have been accepted into all of them,鈥� Frank says. 鈥淚 considered mainly the quality of the educational and research programs, the faculty and the financial aid offers. 麻豆村 鈥� then Carnegie Institute of Technology 鈥� won hands down.鈥�

After earning his master鈥檚 and Ph.D. in high-energy physics in 1966 and 1971 under the guidance of Robert W. Kraemer, he accepted postdoctoral fellowships at Case Western Reserve University and the U.S. Department of Energy鈥檚 Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory known as Fermilab.

鈥淚 really loved my time at 麻豆村, especially the people I worked with,鈥� Frank says. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have a lot of competitiveness amongst ourselves. The graduate students would take time from the projects to help each other, and the faculty would also come in and take time to help.鈥�

Frank joined General Electric Medical Systems as the first member of its Applied Sciences Lab. The lab鈥檚 mission was to perfect the computerized tomography (CT) scanner. While versions were already on the market, the devices were slow and inefficient.

鈥淕E wanted to get all of the data in 10 seconds that everyone else was getting in five minutes,鈥� he says.

He and the team refined GE鈥檚 approach, and since 1981, the 9800 CT scanner system, which Frank designed, has been used in tens of millions of examinations. At GE, he also invented two types of X-ray detectors. He holds more than 20 patents garnered throughout his career.

鈥淭he mathematics and complexity of understanding modern physics is more difficult than any other technical field that exists,鈥� Frank says. He took knowledge learned during his high-energy nuclear physics studies and used that to calculate how X-rays were interacting with humans being scanned.

鈥淪ome of the time, the X-rays bounce around multiple times before they come back out,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 understood all of that and could calculate what that would look like to remove the scattered radiation and create more crisp images.鈥�

The Science of Sport

In his 50s, Frank flew sailplanes and ran 5Ks. In his 70s, he started his track and field career, following in the footsteps of his wife of 53 years, Kay. Frank鈥檚 latest event was the 2023 National Senior Games, an Olympic-style competition for athletes age 50 and older.

For the event, which took place in Pittsburgh in July, Frank qualified for the 400-meter and 800-meter races as well as the discus and hammer throw events.

鈥淥ne of the physical principles that we鈥檙e very interested in both for discus and the hammer throw is called angular momentum,鈥� he says.

Angular momentum is the property of any rotating object given by moment of inertia times angular velocity. Most discus throwers spin around prior to the point of release. The farther their hand is from their body, or the faster a thrower spins, then the more angular momentum is created.

鈥淚f you increase your hand distance from your body by 10% while you鈥檙e turning around, it鈥檚 the same as spinning 10% faster,鈥� Frank says. 鈥淲ith the hammer, of course, you鈥檝e got the same deal.鈥�

Frank picked up the hammer in 2013 after watching competitors in the National Senior Games in Cleveland, Ohio. In 2015 and 2017, he placed third and earned bronze medals at nationals. In 2019, his throw of 90 feet, 5.05 inches earned him silver.

鈥淭here are other guys who are much bigger and stronger than Frank, but because he really appreciates the technique, that鈥檚 how he can get the distance,鈥� says Kay of her husband鈥檚 achievements.

Now in his 80s, Frank is adding novelist to his list of accomplishments. His first book, 鈥淟aser Trap,鈥� is a thriller that draws inspiration from his time as a graduate student, and a couple of characters are recognizable to a few of his Carnegie Mellon friends.

鈥淭he name of the chief character鈥檚 adviser is R.W. Kromer,鈥� Frank says. 鈥淪o as soon as Robert W. Kraemer (former head of Mellon College of Science鈥檚 Department of Physics) saw the book, he knew it was representing him. He got a big kick out of that.鈥�