About UIA
UIA Fellow
2026 Fellow
Tony Crandall
Chris Hill, one of Tony's long-time colleagues, shared these words about Tony's career:
The Educator’s Foundation Tony’s background in Physics education isn't just a line on a resume—it’s his defining characteristic. Whether he was in a university lecture hall or a lab, Tony has always been a teacher at heart. He has a rare gift for translating complex acoustic principles into terms that just "click."
A Parallel Path It’s remarkable how often our careers intertwined. We realized at one point that we’d both spent time at HGM prior to EDO, ZEVEX, and BioSonix. Tony was influential in hiring me at EDO, where he focused on Doppler array transducer design and hydrophones. In those early days of learning SONAR design, I was in his office multiple times a day. He became my most trusted mentor because he didn't just give answers; he found genuine satisfaction in helping others grow.
Leadership At ZEVEX/Moog When Tony moved to ZEVEX as the Ultrasonic Group Manager, he eventually brought me on board again. Managing a team of ten, he oversaw the development of Phacoemulsification Transducers and Air-In-Line sensors. This was where his leadership style really shined. He managed with a level of grace and mentorship that made the entire engineering group feel supported. It’s rare to hear an entire department say they truly love working for their manager, but with Tony, that was the standard.
The Biosonix Chapter After a return to EDO, Tony took a leap of faith to co-found Biosonix with Dave Richotte and myself. We built that company from the ground up—scrounging for equipment, hiring the team, and building the quality systems and production lines from scratch. Tony was the ultimate team player during those high-pressure years. Even in retirement, his influence remains as a consultant and a foundational part of the company's DNA.
The Man Behind the Tech Beyond the transducers and the patents, Tony is someone with a massive heart and a great sense of humor. He’s a "lab rat" in the best sense—he loves the hands-on discovery process. Most importantly, he is someone who celebrates the success of others as if it were his own. I’ve spent my career trying to emulate his level-headedness and his passion for the craft.
2025 Fellow
Kevin Hauser, UIA Vice President, Karl Graff, and David Grewell, UIA Fellow Chair.
Karl Graff, Columbus, OH
UIA honors Karl Graff as the UIA Fellow for 2025. His nomination was unanimously approved by the UIA Board of Directors in recognition of his life-long devotion to ultrasonics. Karl founded the Edison Welding Institute (EWI) on The Ohio State University campus in Columbus, OH. He worked closely with Sonobond, other UIA members and global experts in ultrasound. He also served for three years as the Executive Director for the UIA while helping to educate the broader industrial community about the benefits of ultrasound.
2024 Fellows
Mark Schafer, FUIA - Drexel University, Philadelphia PA and Mark Hodnett, FUIA - NPL, Teddington, UK
(left to right)
2023 Fellow
Margaret Lucas, FUIA - University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK
QUALIFICATIONS
To be elected Fellow of the Ultrasonic Industry Association, a candidate shall have demonstrated outstanding achievements in the field of ultrasonics, or in the management of such activities. The fellow shall be sponsored, in writing, by at least one Board Member of the Board of Directors.
Criteria for Eligibility
Criteria for eligibility for the Fellow of the Ultrasonic Industry Association member grade are taken to mean: having accomplished a step change in the state of the art of ultrasonics engineering and/or science and made significant advancements in either the technology or its commercial practice, bringing significant benefit to society. The individual must have contributed substantially, however not necessarily exclusively, to any achievement(s) being considered in evaluating her/his value to the profession. The nominee must be a current member of the UIA, with at least 10 years of cumulative membership and have made a significant contribution to the Society.
Substantial contributions include being an inventor, proprietor, creator or developer of a new concept or a driving force in reducing such to practice, or a recognized leader of such an effort with responsibilities that go beyond the administrative, such that the accomplishment could not have been made without that individual’s dedicated leadership.
Documents indicating such recognition would include patents, publications, awards, promotions, letters of acknowledgment, elections to prestigious organizations and leadership positions in professional bodies that promote the utilization of the accomplishment for the common good. It is important that a clear documentation of these contributions be provided to enable even those personally unacquainted with the candidate to arrive at a valid judgment of his/her credentials.
Nominating Process
A current and/or past UIA member [either sustaining or individual] that has been a member of the UIA for a cumulative of 10 years, may be nominated by a current UIA member. The nomination must include:
- 1-2 page nomination letter from UIA member, detailing the nominee’s contributions, outcomes and impacts in the area of ultrasonics as well as contribution to the UIA.
- Full resume of nominee
- 3 letters of recommendation (not required to be UIA member)
Applications must be submitted by the last Monday of December and must be submitted to uia@ultrasonics.org as a single PDF file. The decision on the application will be shared with the nominee by the first Monday in March and any awardee will be notified the first Tuesday in March of the following year. The award will be formally announced at the following UIA annual meeting. While not required, it is expected the awardee to attend the conference (waved registration fee).
All fully completed applications will be reviewed by a sub-group of the UIA Board of Directors, consisting of three individuals. There is no term limit for the sub-committee and the positions are nominated and approved by the UIA Board of Directors.
