Franca T. Kuchnir, Ph.D.
Dr. Kuchnir was born in Bulgaria where she spent her childhood. After WW2 and 4 years under communist regime, she lived in Italy and Brazil before coming to the US to work towards a Ph. D. in Nuclear Physics under the direction of Alfred O. Hanson at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. Upon graduation, she spent 5 years at Argonne National Laboratory working on experimental Nuclear Physics applying neutron time-of-flight techniques.
In 1971, Dr. Kuchnir joined the University of Chicago. Her first responsibility as a Post-Doctoral Fellow was to develop a hospital based Neutron Therapy Facility, which operated successfully for over 10 years. During this period, she made significant contributions to research and development in neutron dosimetry. Over the years, Dr. Kuchnir has been actively involved in all aspects of research and development in clinical radiation physics as well as in the implementation of new techniques and programs. She has also made significant contributions to education, teaching undergraduate and graduate students as well as technical and medical staff. Most recently, Dr. Kuchnir initiated a residency Program in Medical Physics, which she directed up to her retirement in January 2001.
Dr. Kuchnir is fluent in five languages, has traveled extensively and with her husband, also a physicist, raised two successful children. She has mentored both professionally and personally a large number of young people with whom she keeps in touch.
