After more than two decades of creating computer images of activity below the earth, University of Western Ontario geophysicist Gerhard Pratt wants to examine something closer to the heart.
Pratt is using geological imaging techniques for ultrasound imaging detection of breast cancer. X-ray mammograms are traditionally used to diagnose the disease. He recently collaborated with the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Michigan to generate 2-D computer images of breast tissue using ultrasound data.
Pratt now hopes to partner with researchers at Western’s Robarts Research Institute.
Before studying medical imaging, he spent 10 years as a professor at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., analysing seismic waves. He decided to continue studying the earth when he became the chair for Western’s Department of Earth Sciences.
Pratt’s research is based on seismic waveform inversion, a method of gathering more information about seismic waves. He uses waveform tomography to create 2-D and 3-D images of the waves from computer data, much like an artist would fashion a clay sculpture.
“You don’t have to wait for an earth quake to happen to understand how seismic waves move around inside the earth,” says Pratt, whose students create waves by hitting the earth with a hammer. “They move out like ripples on a pond, but they bounce around and interact with the earth in complicated ways.”
But the long-time researcher, who also provides consultation to major oil and gas companies, didn’t always want to be geologist. He intended to work in the nuclear industry after completing a degree in engineering physics at Queen’s in 1980.
“I never expected to end up in an earth sciences or geology department,” says the Toronto native, whose father was a political professor, and his mother worked in areas of social justice.
At 22, Pratt worked as a wireline engineer on an oil rig in the North Sea. “I became involved in things to do with the earth, with the resource sector. It was really interesting,” says Pratt of the experience that compelled him to switch career paths.
He went on to do graduate work in geology and geophysics at Imperial College of Science and Technology in London, England. He remained there as a lecturer from 1992 to 1997 before joining the faculty at Queen’s in 1998.
Former Queen’s colleague and fellow geologist Gema Olivo describes Pratt as hardworking, professional and trustworthy.
While Olivo is happy for Pratt, she was upset to see him leave Queen’s.
“I lost a great colleague and someone who I thought has the leadership to be the head of our department. And also, he is a great friend,” she says. “Western is lucky to have Gerhard. We are jealous.”
Pratt didn’t come to Western alone. He brought along with him dedicated PhD students Rie Kamei and Andrew Brenders.
“Once you find a project, he’s there to provide guidance and expertise,” says Brenders, a student of Pratt’s since 1999. “He is a hands-off advisor with a strong work ethic.”
When Pratt left Queen’s he also left his wife and two sons, who will join him when they find a home in London in the spring.
His eldest son is finishing a mechanical engineering degree at Queen’s. But his wife, a ceramic artist, and teenage son, a painter, are following career paths unlike that of Pratt.
“It’s an interesting combination. It pulls me out of this highly technical world I am involved in at work,” he says.
For now, Pratt spends much of his busy days settling into his new role at Western. To break away from work, he makes time for exercise.
“It’s the only way to be both busy and mentally sane. I need an hour a day to go for a run or a swim,” says Pratt, who hopes to participate in a triathlon in the summer as he has in past years. “It’s a good way to keep yourself motivated over the winter.”
Though administrative duties and triathlon training are keeping Pratt busy, he is excited to undertake both geological and medical imaging research at Western.
“Images are always improving, and we are trying to contribute to that development.”
Fact Box:
He loves reading science novels. Oliver Sacks and Richards Hawkins are two of his favourite authors. He was the 2008 Canadian Society of Exploration Geophysicists distinguished lecturer. He is writing a graduate textbook on seismic waveforms. He is interested in Albert Tarantola’s mathematical inverse methods. He was the associate editor of Geophysics magazine from 1996 to 2000.
The writer is a graduate student studying Journalism. This feature profiles faculty members hired over the past two years.
