Peter D. Esser ’61

Peter D. Esser ’61, of Smithtown, N.Y.; Jan. 31. He was a medical physicist at New York Presbyterian Hospital, then became chief physicist in the division of nuclear medicine, followed by the position of chief physicist at the Kreitchman PET Center. He was involved in research and developing improvements in nuclear medicine and positron emission tomography (PET) technology. He obtained several patents, coauthored research papers, and edited books related to the fields. He collaborated with Data Spectrum in the development of a “phantom” for the testing of PET equipment, which is in use today. He also taught at Columbia University as professor emeritus of Clinical Radiology (Physics) in Environmental Health Sciences and special lecturer in the Department of Radiology and the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics. He was the recipient of the NSF Presidential Internship in nuclear medicine at the Medical Research Center of Brookhaven National Laboratory (N.Y.). He was a past president of the American Board of Science in Nuclear Medicine, a member of the Nuclear Accreditation Committee of the American College of Radiology, and a fellow of both the American College of Radiology and the American College of Nuclear Medicine. He enjoyed photography. He is survived by his wife, Jean; two sons, including Jeffrey ’92; two daughters-in-law; and four grandchildren.