Chris Chaggares has spent decades designing ultrasound transducers, moving from electrical and mechanical engineering into materials science and simulation.

He began with an interest in lasers but found his passion in ultrasound technology and its design challenges.

Simulation is central in his work, guiding projects from first idea to final production.

He describes simulation as a “Minecraft world” where he can explore designs and gain intuition about microscopic components.

With well-characterized materials, simulation lets him test ideas in hours instead of weeks, cutting costs and accelerating innovation.

Some problems—like modeling 1-3 piezo composites—cannot be simplified without losing essential fidelity.

He regularly checks simulation against lab measurements to ensure results are trustworthy.

High compute costs, meshing difficulties, and challenges with 3D propagation and pulse-echo modeling remain major hurdles.