Axel Ruprecht

Born in Germany, Axel grew up in Toronto, Canada, where he received a DDS from the University of Toronto in 1968. After interning at the Toronto Hospitals he entered the Oral Radiology program in 1969, graduating with an MScD in 1972. He became a Fellow of the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology in 1974, Fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada in 1975, Fellow of the International College of Dentists in 1991, and a Fellow of the American College of Dentists in 2001. In 1998 he was inducted into Omicron Kappa Upsilon Dental Honor Society.

Axel joined the Faculty at the University of Western Ontario as Assistant Professor in 1972, then moved to the University of Saskatchewan as Associate Professor in 1975. In 1977 he was appointed Head of the Dept. of Diagnosis and Oral Radiology, and in 1979 was promoted to Professor. In July 1980 he was appointed Assistant Dean of Clinical Affairs.

In 1981 Axel and family moved to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where, as Professor of Radiology, he assumed the position of Chair of Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology at King Saud University, and subsequently Chair of the Department of Biomedical Dental Sciences. While there he engaged in epidemiological research, with several colleagues, into the prevalence of various dental anomalies in Saudi Arabia.

In 1986 he and his family moved to the University of Marburg where as head of the Radiology Section at the Center for Dental, Oral and Maxillofacial Health Sciences, he taught radiology and functioned as the radiologist for a major head and neck trauma and developmental anomalies center for a year prior to joining The University of Iowa in 1987. In Iowa Axel is active clinically in the College of Dentistry, where he is the only radiologist, as well as at UIHC where he sees patients in the Department of Radiology. Axel is also on the staff in the UIHC Department of Dentistry.

Axel is active in professional activities in Radiology. He is a past president of the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Canadian Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, and American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, and has finished two terms as Chief Examiner in Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology for the Royal College of Dentists of Canada. Although he has completed his terms as chief examiner, he has been asked to remain as an examiner. From 1992 to 1999 he was the Co-chair of the American Academy's Committee to obtain specialty recognition from the American Dental Association for Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, which was finally achieved in October 1999. This was the first new specialty recognized in 36 years. In October 1999, Axel was appointed the first Commissioner for Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology on the Commission on Dental Accreditation. He served in this position until 2003. In 2004, Axel became a consultant-evaluator for The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. He has also served as a site visitor and consultant to the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Higher Education and its Commission on Accreditation.

His teaching responsibilities at Iowa include radiology and anatomy lectures, labs and clinics for first year through fourth year dental students, as well as to residents in all the specialty areas in the UI College of Dentistry, and lectures to residents in Medical Radiology. He is Program Director for Advanced Education in Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology.

Axel is also active internationally, having been visiting professor to numerous universities in Canada, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Japan, Jordan, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela, and until recently a member of the International Affairs and Programs Committee. In recognition of his international activities, Axel was made a member of Phi Beta Delta International Honor Society in 1988.

Axel has been active in genealogical research for over 20 years, having searched out his and his wife's family roots, and currently has over 2000 names in his database, going back approximately 500 years down some lines. As well, Axel is an instrumented-rated pilot, scuba diver, traction steam engineer, and sometime student sky-diver.

Axel lives in the Iowa City area with his wife Barbara, and their Bichon Frise, Spike, and two cats, Travi and Angel.