Women in Microwaves: Rhonda Franklin

Abstract

When Rhonda Franklin earned her doctorate in 1995, she was one of only six African-Americans graduating with engineering PhDs in the United States. When she was tenured and promoted to an associate professor at the University of Minnesota in 2004, she was the first female of any race to earn tenure in her department from the rank of assistant professor and the first African American female tenured in the college. Today, Franklin is the McKnight Presidential Endowed Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Minnesota and Abbott Professor of Innovative Education in the Institute for Engineering in Medicine. Her research focuses on circuits, antennas, integration and packaging and materials characterization in radio frequency (RF), microwave and milli wave applications related to communications systems and biomedicine. This article is the third in a continuing series of biographical pieces on women who have made significant and continuous contributions to microwave science, technology, applications, and education over the course of their careers. The articles are based on oral histories with the subject, conducted in conjunction with the IEEE History Center and deposited online with the Engineering and Technology History Wiki.