MSI PIs Rhonda Franklin (professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering) and Chris Pennell (associate professor, Laboratory Medicine and Pathology; Masonic Cancer Center) have been named the inaugural Abbott Professors in Innovative Education from the Institute for Engineering in Medicine (IEM). These professorships are awarded to the faculty co-directors of the IEM Inspire Program, which will encourage students in eighth grade through junior college to pursue STEM professions in biomedicine and healthcare delivery. An article about this program and Professors Franklin and Pennell can be found on the College of Science and Engineering website: Abbott Professorships to Introduce Prospective Students to STEM.
Professor Franklin uses MSI resources to help design and test the performance of microwave antennas and circuits for communications and biomedical applications. Professor Pennell uses MSI for genetic analyses as part of developing novel immune-based therapies for cancer.