UCSB Engineering Professor Mark Rodwell Appointed to Doluca Chair

UC Santa Barbara Professor Mark Rodwell, whose research has extended the limits of high-frequency radio, high-speed optical communications, and powerful imaging applications, has been awarded the Doluca Family Chair in Electrical and Computer Engineering in recognition of his exceptional achievements.

The endowed professorship recently was established with a $500,000 gift from alumnus Tunc Doluca and his wife, Lale, to support education and technological innovation in analog and mixed-signal integrated circuit design.

"As an internationally recognized leader in the area of circuit design, Professor Mark Rodwell brings honor and inspiration to our UC Santa Barbara community," said UCSB Chancellor Henry T. Yang.

"The Doluca Family Chair is a vital and permanent tool to ensure future campus leadership in this important area of research, and we are immensely grateful to the Dolucas for their visionary and strategic support of electrical and computer engineering."

Rodwell earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University and joined the UCSB faculty in 1990.

His revolutionary work has enabled the development of ultrahigh-speed wireless links in the previously unreached electromagnetic spectra of the "Terahertz Gap," for short-distance and portable communications and high-resolution cameras and imagers for detecting concealed objects.

"The Doluca Family Chair highlights the important area of analog and mixed-signal circuit design and allows the electrical and computer engineering department to recognize the extraordinary accomplishments of Professor Mark Rodwell," said Jerry Gibson, department chair.

"Endowed professorships are an essential component in retaining and rewarding our internationally renowned faculty, and in building on our strengths.

Tunc and Lale Doluca's generosity and commitment to the department are sincerely appreciated."

A fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Rodwell also serves as director of the campus's Nanofabrication Facility, which is part of the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network.

For his exceptional contributions to electronics, he received the 2010 David Sarnoff Award.

"I am most grateful to the Doluca family for their support of UCSB," said Rodwell.

"This support assists us in our efforts to extend the high-frequency limits of electronic circuits, and in UCSB's efforts to develop a world-class educational program in integrated circuit design."

Endowed chairs are highly prized academic positions that recognize scholarly excellence. Proceeds from the endowment provide permanent funding to support the activities of outstanding scholars.

Tunc Doluca is president and chief executive officer of Maxim Integrated Products, an international corporation specializing in the design and manufacture of high-performance semiconductor products.

He earned his master's degree in electrical engineering from UCSB and holds 11 mixed-signal design patents.