RSNA 2026 Dedication

William R. Hendee, PhD, was a pioneering medical physicist, educator and leader whose work profoundly shaped the fields of medical imaging, radiation therapy and radiologic science.

Raised in rural Mississippi, he combined a lifelong passion for learning with a commitment to service, beginning with his time in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve and continuing through a distinguished academic career that spanned more than six decades. He held faculty and leadership positions at the University of Colorado and the Medical College of Wisconsin, where he mentored generations of physicians, scientists and medical physicists and helped develop programs that produced many of the field’s future leaders.

An accomplished scholar, Dr. Hendee authored more than 400 peer-reviewed publications and 24 books, including foundational texts that educated countless imaging and radiation professionals worldwide. He also served for nearly three decades as editor of Medical Physics, helping guide the advancement of scientific knowledge across the profession.

Throughout his career, he led numerous organizations, including the American Association of Physicists in Medicine, the Society of Nuclear Medicine and the American Board of Radiology. His extraordinary contributions were recognized with many of the profession’s highest honors, including the RSNA Gold Medal.