Prof. Bell was selected to receive the 2024 NSF Alan T. Waterman Award, which is the highest honor in the United States offered to early-career scientists and engineers. The award comes with a medal and $1,000,000 to advance each recipient’s research. Prof. Bell is the first ever recipient from Johns Hopkins University in the award’s 48-year history, which is a significant achievement for America’s first research university. Prof. Bell is also one of few women and Black scientists to receive the award. There is a lot of rich history behind this win.
When receiving this award, Prof. Bell was recognized “for pioneering innovations in ultrasound and photoacoustic imaging, particularly coherence-based beamforming, photoacoustic-guided surgery, and deep learning. These innovations cross interdisciplinary boundaries to improve medical image quality in patients, reduce patient deaths during surgery, inspire new surgical designs, and provide more equitable healthcare.” Congratulations to Prof. Bell!