Rhonda Franklin (born 1965) is a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

. She is a

microwave Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than other radio waves but longer than infrared waves. Its wavelength ranges from about one meter to one millimeter, corresponding to frequency, frequencies between 300&n ...

and

radio frequency Radio frequency (RF) is the oscillation rate of an alternating electric current or voltage or of a magnetic, electric or electromagnetic field or mechanical system in the frequency range from around to around . This is roughly between the u ...

engineer whose research focuses on microelectronic mechanical structures in radio and microwave applications. She has won several awards, including the 1998

NSF NSF may stand for: Political organizations *National Socialist Front, a Swedish National Socialist party *NS-Frauenschaft, the women's wing of the former German Nazi party * National Students Federation, a leftist Pakistani students' political g ...

Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) is the highest honor bestowed by the United States federal government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent research careers. T ...

, the 2013 Sara Evans Leadership Award, the 2017 John Tate Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising, and the 2018 Minnesota African American Heritage Calendar Award for her contributions to higher education.

Education

Franklin was born in

Rayne, Louisiana Rayne is a city in Acadia Parish, Louisiana, United States. With a population of 7,326 at the 2020 United States census, it is nicknamed the "Frog Capital of the World", as well as the "Louisiana City of Murals". Rayne is part of the Crowley ...

and grew up in

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

and

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. During high school, she received mixed advice on the career she should pursue. While her senior counselor thought she should become a secretary, her science teachers encouraged her to explore

STEM Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

fields by attending a summer camp run by the

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

. This exposure to science inspired Franklin to pursue and complete her bachelor's degree in Electronic Engineering at

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

in 1988. She joined

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

for her graduate studies, earning a Master's in 1990 and her PhD in 1995. Her supervisor was

Linda Katehi Linda Pisti Basile Katehi-Tseregounis (born January 30, 1954) is a Greek-born American engineering professor and former university administrator. Katehi was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering (2006) for contributions to three ...

. She was the first

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

woman in the

microwave engineering Microwave engineering pertains to the study and design of microwave circuits, components, and systems. Fundamental principles are applied to analysis, design and measurement techniques in this field. The short wavelengths involved distinguish this ...

program, and one of only six African-Americans graduating with engineering Ph.D.s in the United States in 1995. Her graduate research was sponsored by th
National GEM Consortium
and involved three placements at

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center in Livermore, California, United States. Originally established in 1952, the laboratory now i ...

Awards

*1998

(PECASE) *2002 NAE 8th Annual Symposium on Frontiers in Engineering *2003 NAE 6th Annual German-American Frontiers of Engineering (GAFOE) Symposium *2003 3M Non-tenured Faculty Award *2006 NAE 9th Annual German-American Frontiers of Engineering (GAFOE) Symposium *2012 CIC Academic Leadership Fellow (University of Minnesota) *2012 and 2013 U of Minnesota Morse Alumni Teaching Award Finalist (University of Minnesota) *2014 Sara Evans Faculty Scholar/Leader Award, (University of Minnesota) *2017 John Tate Advising Award (University of Minnesota) *2018 Minnesota African American Heritage Calendar Award *2018 Willie Hobbs Moore Distinguished Alumni Lecturer (University of Michigan ECE Department) *2019 N. Walter Cox Service Award (IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society) *2020 IEM Abbott Professorship in Innovative Education *2023 ECE Distinguished Alumni Educator Award at the University of Michigan

Research and career

Franklin researches

radio-frequency Radio frequency (RF) is the oscillation rate of an alternating electric current or voltage or of a magnetic, electric or electromagnetic field or mechanical system in the frequency range from around to around . This is roughly between the ...

microwave circuits. She identifies new ways to integrate communication devices. She was an instructor at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1996, and joined the

's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering faculty in 1998. She was awarded the

(PECASE) by

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

in 1998. Her research areas include: * Biomedical and Biological Computational Methods Devices, and System * Fields, Photonics, Magnetic Recording Technology * Micro and Nanostructures Her recent research combines high-speed antennas and circuits for biomedical applications, such as cancer diagnostics. Franklin was the first woman to earn tenure in her department as an assistant professor, and also is the first African-American woman to do so in both her department and the ''entire'' college. In 2007 she was appointed chair of the scholarship program, and worked to promote microwave-engineering education to minority students. In 2012 she was named a CIC Academic Leadership Fellow. In 2013 she was promoted to Professor. She won the 2014 Sara Evans Award for her research success in wireless communications. She won the 2016 John Tate Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising from the

, and was the recipient of the 2019 N. Walter Cox Award of the IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society for exemplary service "in a spirit of selfless dedication and cooperation." Franklin instituted the Microwave Packaging and Technology (MPACT) research group at the University of Minnesota. In 2020, Franklin along with Chris Purnell received the inaugural IEM Abbott Professorships in Innovative Education. The Professorships were awarded to the co-directors of The Institute for Engineering in Medicine (IEM) at the University of Minnesota. The award is intended to help advance IEM's mission to inspire students in eighth grade through junior college to see themselves in STEM careers in biomedicine and healthcare delivery. In 2023, she returned to the University of Michigan to receive the CE Distinguished Alumni Educator Award. This was in recognition of her contributions to engineering education.

Public engagement and diversity work

Franklin co-founded the

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is an American 501(c)(3) public charity professional organization for electrical engineering, electronics engineering, and other related disciplines. The IEEE has a corporate office ...

''Microwave Theory and Techniques Society's (IEEE MTT-S) International Microwave Symposium (IMS)'' Project Connect, which connects underrepresented undergraduate college students to opportunities in microwave engineering, a field in STEM. She works with her co-founders, Tom Weller (now at

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

) and Rashaunda Henderson (

UT Dallas The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD or UT Dallas) is a Public university, public research university in Richardson, Texas, United States. It is the northernmost institution of the University of Texas System. It was initially founded in 1961 ...

), and other committed industry and government colleagues who volunteer from the MTT-S society to create and host this immersive program to broaden participation of women and minorities annually within the IMS conference of the IEEE MTT-S professional society since 2014. Project Connect selects students based on academic credentials and offers both professional development opportunities and technical training. Through the

"Next Prof" program, Franklin has been a mentor to several early career scientists. She uses educational technology to provide access for students from minority groups.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin, Rhonda 21st-century African-American scientists African-American engineers University of Michigan College of Engineering alumni Texas A&M University alumni University of Minnesota faculty 21st-century American women engineers 21st-century American engineers 1965 births Living people 21st-century African-American academics 21st-century American academics 21st-century American women academics 20th-century African-American scientists 20th-century American academics