Dr. Hugh J. McDermott has been selected as the first recipient of the Callier Prize in Communication Disorders, a biennial award from the UT Dallas Callier Center for Communication Disorders.
McDermott is a professor at the University of Melbourne’s Department of Otolaryngology, as well as a leading researcher and designer of cochlear implant systems and digital hearing aids.
The newly established Callier Prize recognizes individuals whose leadership has fostered scientific advances and significant developments in the diagnosis and treatment of communication disorders. The award, which will rotate among the fields of audiology and speech and language pathology, includes a $10,000 prize.
Dr. Thomas Campbell, executive director of the Callier Center, described McDermott’s contributions as remarkable from both an audiologist’s and a patient’s perspective.
“The Callier Center is delighted to award the first Callier Prize to Dr. McDermott,” Campbell said. “As a result of his work, we are able to provide the latest treatment methods and auditory equipment to our patients.”
The call for nominations, which ended in February, produced a diverse group of candidates. Eleven distinguished researchers and practitioners in the field of audiology carefully reviewed each nomination according to the award’s criteria.
McDermott’s selection was based on his research, which has often led to the development of new or improved sound-processing schemes for cochlear implants or hearing aids. He has published extensively in refereed journals, and he has received numerous U.S. and international patents for work that has helped cochlear implant users understand speech better.
“Dr. McDermott’s work truly speaks for itself,” remarked Dr. Ross Roeser, chair of the Callier Prize’s selection committee. “Patients with severe-to-profound deafness from around the world are living happier and more productive lives as a result of his commitment to research focusing on improved technology.”
McDermott will receive the award at a special one-day conference in his honor sponsored by the Foundation for the Callier Center at its Dallas location March 7, 2009. Local, state, national and international leaders in audiology are expected to attend, in addition to philanthropic supporters, community leaders and university officials.
About the Callier Center
The Callier Center, with locations in Dallas and on the UT Dallas campus in Richardson, is one of the nation’s pre-eminent educational, research and treatment centers focusing on communication and communication disorders. The center is part of the university’s School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. In 2008, U.S. News & World Report ranked UT Dallas’ audiology program fourth in the nation and its speech-language-pathology program 12th, resulting in both programs being ranked in the top 5 percent nationally in their respective disciplines. For additional information about the Callier Center, please visit the center’s Web site at www.callier.utdallas.edu.
Media contacts: Debra Brown, UT Dallas, (214) 905-3049, debra@utdallas.edu
or the Office of Media Relations, UT Dallas, (972) 883-2155, newscenter@utdallas.edu
