In Memoriam: David Howell Evans DSc, 1950 - 2025
Former BMUS and EFSUMB President, David Howell Evans, died on the 25th of May, aged 75. David was a medical physicist who received international recognition for his contribution to the field of Doppler ultrasound. David led the University Hospitals of Leicester Department of Medical Physics and was University of Leicester Chair of Medical Physics for over 20 years, retiring in 2011. He is best known for his textbook Doppler Ultrasound, Physics, Instrumentation and Signal Processing, co-authored with his long-time friend, Norman McDicken.
David was born in 1950 in Heswall, a coastal town on the Wirral, now part of Merseyside, to parents Dorothy and Howell Evans. Family holidays were often taken on the banks of Lake Windermere, where he developed a life-long love of the Lake District. David was awarded a degree in physics from the University of Surrey in 1972; this included a year’s work experience gathering acoustic noise data from locations across the UK for the National Physical Laboratory (NPL). David then joined the Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering in Glasgow for two years, before accepting a post at Leicester Royal Infirmary (LRI) where he met his future wife, Christina.
David’s doctoral research involved developing blood flow and physiological measurement instrumentation in collaboration with the LRI Department of Surgery. He graduated with a PhD from the University of Leicester in 1979 and then travelled to Brazil with Christina to take up a 2-year visiting professorship at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. By the 1990s, David was Head of a large Medical Physics Department with over 100 members of staff and a thriving ultrasound research group. He supervised dozens of PhD and MSc students, most of whom have gone on to successful careers as Clinical Scientists or Academics. David was always generous with his time, providing detailed and honest feedback, usually delivered via his trademark ‘red pen’. David had a critical mind and was an expert journal reviewer, becoming Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board member for several well-respected journals. David’s legacy includes over 300 publications in peer reviewed journals and over 11,000 citations. His work on embolus detection during carotid surgery led to significant safety improvements. In 2001, David’s contribution to Doppler ultrasound in medicine was celebrated through award of an honorary doctorate (DSc) from the University of Surrey.
David was a Fellow of the Institute of Physics in Medicine (FIPEM) and Fellow of the Institute of Physics (FInstP), but the society closest to his heart to was BMUS. One of the honours he was most proud of was being awarded Honorary BMUS membership in 2000, having served as President from 1996 to 1998. David wore his presidential medal with pride; he rarely missed a BMUS Annual Scientific Meeting. He particularly enjoyed the Young Investigator session and, after a few glasses of wine, would dazzle us with his dance moves at the Gala Dinner disco.
Following his presidency of BMUS, David went on to become President of the European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (2005-2007) and WFUMB Honorary Secretary (2009-2011). David loved international travel and was heavily involved in organising EUROSON and WFUMB Congresses. David also had a special fondness for the Artimino Conference on Medical Ultrasound Technology; the most recent Artimino meeting (Lyon, June 15-18th, 2025) was jointly dedicated to the memory of both David H. Evans (1950-2025) and Norman McDicken (1940-2024).
In his personal life, David pursued his outside interests with the same dedication and rigour as his NHS and academic work. He was a keen scuba ‘Dive Master’ and held a private pilot’s licence. Naturally, his appreciation and knowledge of wine was fully evidenced with a Level 3 qualification from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust.
David is survived by his loving wife Christina, two children, and five grandchildren.
Our thoughts are with his wife Leah and children Jennie, Alan and Daniel.
