Dr. Kenneth Hogstrom received his BS in Physics and MS in Experimental Nuclear Physics from the University of Houston, and earned his PhD in Experimental Nuclear Physics from Rice University in 1976. He then pursued pion radiotherapy as a research scientist at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine in collaboration with the Los Alamos National Laboratory before assuming a faculty position at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center at Houston. During his tenure, Dr. Hogstrom served as inaugural Chair of M. D. Anderson’s Department of Radiation Physics and held the P.H. and Fay Etta Robinson Distinguished Professorship in Cancer Research. He served 20 years as director of the Medical Physics Program at The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Houston, where he also served as president of its graduate faculty from 2002-2003. In 2004, Dr. Hogstrom joined the faculty in the LSU College of Science and Department of Physics & Astronomy, where he served seven years as director of its Medical Physics Program, and in 2007 he was appointed to the Dr. Charles M. Smith Endowed Chair of Medical Physics. This position included a joint appointment as Chief of Physics at the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center.
As a highly acclaimed educator and researcher, Dr. Hogstrom has had a remarkable impact on practice in the field of radiotherapy. He has a passion for graduate education and considers challenging and mentoring graduate students in their research one of his greatest joys. Throughout his 40-year career, Dr. Hogstrom supervised 20 MS and PhD students, served on the supervisory committees of another 35 students, and supervised 12 postdoctoral fellows.
Dr. Hogstrom integrated teaching, research and clinical practice to investigate and advance areas at the forefront of radiation oncology such as neutron, pion, image-guided, intensity-modulated, stereotactic, targeted, and electron radiotherapy. His areas of primary research interest are electron beam radiotherapy, TomoTherapy for superficial cancers, image-guided radiotherapy, and Auger electron therapy using monochromatic x-rays. His research is conducted at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center and the LSU Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices (CAMD).
Nationally, Dr. Hogstrom served as President of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), vice chair of the American Board of Medical Physics, inaugural chair of the Residency Education Review Committee of the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs (CAMPEP), and member of many committees of the professional societies. He became fellow of the AAPM, American College of Medical Physics (ACMP), and American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), and he received many prestigious honors, including the AAPM William D. Coolidge Award and the ACMP Marvin M. D. Williams Award.
Established in honor of his outstanding research, scholarship, and mentorship of graduate students, the Kenneth R. Hogstrom Superior Graduate Student Scholarship will support medical physics graduate students participating in clinical research on radiation oncology at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center.
For more information on the Kenneth R. Hogstrom Superior Graduate Student Scholarship Fund, please contact Senior Director of Development for the LSU College of Science Eric Guerin at eguerin@lsufoundation.org or 225-578-7602.
You may make your gift online or via check.
Make check payable to: LSU Foundation
Notation Line: Hogstrom Graduate Scholarship
Send to: LSU Foundation
3796 Nicholson Dr.
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
In the event the support received for the Hogstrom Superior Graduate Student Scholarship does not meet the minimum amount required to receive matching funds from the Louisiana Board of Regents, an alternate use for the funds will be determined. Any alternate use will provide direct student support for a graduate student performing innovative research in radiation oncology physics.
Sentiments from Postdoctoral Fellows and Students of Dr. Hogstrom
“I was privileged to be the first of hundreds of students mentored, trained and polished by Ken Hogstrom. I owe a substantial part of my career success to him. Any experienced supervisor can appear highly successful by coaching extremely bright students. Ken has a genius to impart his skills to less than perfect talent who end up making valuable and unique contributions to the profession. Ken’s legacy is that so many of us are still making a difference.“
Michael D. Mills, PhD, FAAPM, FACMP
Professor Emeritus, James Graham Brown Cancer Center
Editor-in Chief, Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics
"Dr. Kenneth R Hogstrom is a medical physicist extraordinaire. I was profoundly influenced by his intellect, dedication, and attention to details. He is one of those rare individuals who have the potential to get the best out of people with his sincere intentions and selfless commitment to them."
Jatinder R. Palta, PhD, FAAPM
Professor & Chairman of Medical Physics, Virginia Commonwealth University
Chief Physicist, National Radiation Oncology Program, Veterans Health Affairs
"Dr. Hogstrom was one of my first mentors when I was a postdoctoral fellow at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. He was an outstanding mentor, teaching me how to write and craft scientific manuscripts."
Daniel A. Low, PhD, FAAPM
Professor & Vice Chair of Medical Physics, Dept. of Radiation Oncology,
David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California at Los Angeles
“Dr. Hogstrom is an outstanding medical physicist, educator, and human being. His contributions to medical physics are innumerable, and he has had a huge impact on patient care, education, research, and the personal and professional lives of those around him.”
John A. Antolak, Ph.D., FAAPM
Associate Professor, Dept. of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic
“It was an honor to have met Dr. Hogstrom and receive my medical physics education and training from him and Dr. Gibbons. The words and contributions cannot describe how much I appreciated the opportunity that Dr. Hogstrom and LSU/MBCC have given me. Thank you so much for this scholarship fund and I hope that this will give an opportunity to a good person who is eager and passionate about the field.”
Shima Ito, MS
Clinical Medical Physicist, Dept. of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic
"Dr. Hogstrom has an incredible work ethic and spirit for innovation, which is contagious to his students. Personally, I was challenged by him to work at higher standards and often to work harder than I had ever done before. I am sure those years spent learning from him will benefit my entire life."
John G. Eley, PhD
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Radiation Oncology, University of Maryland School of Medicine
“Dr. Hogstrom's mentorship and friendship have been incrediably influential throughout my medical physics career. My development professionally and academically has been shaped by his guidance and much of my current success can be directly attributed to his influence on my life. I am extremely fortunate to count Dr. Hogstrom as a mentor.”
James A. Kavanaugh, MS
Instructor, Dept. of Radiation Oncology, Washington University School of Medicine
"Dr. H is an amazing person. He not only was an inspiring advisor and mentor, but a caring human being. Today when I need a piece of advice, I still go to him, and he helps in any way he can. He deeply cares about the future generations of medical physicists.”
Diane Alvarez, MS
Radiation Oncology Physics Resident, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center
"I was delighted to learn LSU has established the Kenneth R. Hogstrom Superior Graduate Student Scholarship Fund. My first interactions with Professor Hogstrom were as a graduate student entering the medical physics graduate program at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in 1986, shortly after he became chair of the Department of Radiation Physics and Director of the Medical Physics Graduate Program. Based upon my interactions and collaborations with Professor Hogstrom, I can unequivocally state that very, very few individuals have demonstrated enthusiasm and dedication to medical physics educational efforts at the level he has provided. I had the privilege of experiencing that level of dedication as a student in one of his graduate courses, as a member of various MD Anderson Cancer Center Medical Physics Graduate Program committees, as the deputy director of the MD Anderson Cancer Center Medical Physics Graduate Program for six years while he was program director, and in the years since that time as a colleague on various educational committees of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine. There is no doubt in my mind the development of this scholarship fund in his honor is a very fitting tribute to his dedication to medical physics graduate and residency education and the long-lasting impact of his many contributions."
Edward F. Jackson, PhD, FAAPM, FACR
Professor & Chair and Director, Graduate Medical Physics Program
Dept. of Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health