Illinois Tech’s Master of Health Physics program recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. S.Y. Chen, director of the program, hosted a lunch event commemorating the occasion on June 23 in the Robert A. Pritzker Science Center. Students, alumni, faculty, and staff of the program were in attendance.

The Master of Health Physics program was one of the first Professional Science Master’s (PSM) programs, founded in 1997 by Carlo Segre, professor of physics, and Eli Port, a former Illinois Tech radiation safety officer. The current curriculum, designed by Chen, emphasizes applying radiation protection principles, assessing radiation exposure and human health risks, monitoring radiological release and environmental radiation, designing radiation controls and measurement devices, and developing radiation protection measure for regulatory compliance.  This non-thesis program started out primarily online, but later added on-campus curriculum to accommodate students’ needs. Students still have the option to fully complete the program online, however, aside from one week-long instrumentation course held on Illinois Tech’s campus. Today, the program enrolls students from around the nation and abroad.

Students in the program are offered multiple opportunities to become involved in the profession through the Student Chapter of the Health Physics Society, the local Midwest Chapter of the Health Physics Society, and the National Health Physics Society.

Chen said, “If you are looking to advance in health physics career Illinois Tech is the right place for you!”

To learn more about the Master of Health Physics program, visit the website.