IUPESM Award of Merit
presented to

Colin G . Orton

for
Outstanding Achievements in Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine

International Union for Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine
August 2003

Dr. Orton started his career in medical physics as an Instructor at the St. Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical College, London in 1961. He obtained his PhD degree in Radiation Physics in 1965 at London University and, in 1966 moved to the USA when he was appointed Chief Physicist at the New York University School of Medicine. In 1975 he moved to Rhode Island Hospital where he was appointed Chief Physicist and Associate Professor of Radiation Medicine at Brown University. Finally, in 1981 he moved to Detroit where he was appointed Chief Physicist and Professor of Radiation Oncology and Radiology.

Throughout his career he has been enthusiastic about teaching and has taught several hundred courses to medical physicists, residents, radiation therapists, imaging technologists, and premedical students. For the past 20 years he has directed the Wayne State University graduate Medical Physics program.

Another consuming interest has been in publication. He has served as the Editor of the Bulletins of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) and the American College of Medical Physics he edited Medical Physics World, and since 1991, has been the North American Editor of the Medical Sciences Series for the Institute of Physics. He currently serves as the Editor of Medical Physics. He is author or Editor of 14 books and over 100 research papers as first author.

His activities for the IOMP began in 1983 when IOMP President Larry Lanzl twisted his arm to help with the publication of the new bulletin Medical Physics World. In 1988 and 1994 he was elected IOMP Secretary-General and Vice-President, respectively, and served as President from 1997 -2000. Since 1988 he has been a member of the IUPESM Board of Councillors, and has been the Vice-President since 2000. In 1988 he initiated and became the Curator of the Libraries for Developing Countries program of the IOMP which, to date, has established 90 libraries in 58 countries, most recently under the directorship of Marilyn Stovall.

In addition to the IOMP, Colin has served as President of the AAPM, the ACMP, and the American Brachytherapy Society, and has been honoured to receive the highest awards of each of these societies.