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Thomas M. Weller received the B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering in 1988, 1991, and 1995, respectively, from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. From 1988-1990 he worked at Hughes Aircraft Company in El Segundo, CA. He joined the University of South Florida in 1995 where he is currently professor and chair in the Electrical Engineering Department.

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Carol Haden holds a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from Northern Arizona University, with an emphasis in program evaluation. She specializes in the evaluation of programs in STEM education across the K-20 spectrum and the evaluation of STEM Education and Public Outreach programs. Carol has designed and conducted evaluations of projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, NASA, the Arizona Board of Regents, Goddard Space Flight Center, Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Arizona Department of Education, among others.

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Dr. Aaron Ohta received a B.S. from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 2003, an M.S. from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2004, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 2008, all in the field of electrical engineering. He is currently an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where he has been since 2009. Dr. Ohta's research interests include microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and microfluidics. He has published two book chapters and over 70 peer-reviewed journal and conference papers, and is co-inventor on 2 U.S. patents.

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Dr. Sylvia Wilson Thomas is currently an Assistant Professor in Electrical Engineering and former Assistant Dean for the College of Engineering at the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. She holds several patents and has over twenty-five years of experience in industry and academia.

Research Interests

Sylvia Wilson Thomas, Ph.D. leads the Advanced Materials Bio and Integration Research (AMBIR) laboratory at USF. Dr. Thomas' research and teaching endeavors are focused on advanced materials for alternative energy sources, sustainable environments, aerospace, and bio-applications from the micro to the nano scale. Her research investigates the fabrication of inorganic and organic thin films and nanofibers for device integration. Thomas’ research group specializes in characterizing, modeling, and integrating materials that demonstrate high levels of biocompatibility, thermal reflectivity, mechanical robustness, and environmental sustainability, such as carbides, sol-gel coatings, high temperature oxides, and several polymers. Her research is interdisciplinary in nature and fosters collaborations with Chemical and Biomedical, Mechanical, and Environmental Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Public Health, Medicine, and the Nanotechnology Research and Education Center (NREC).

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Rhonda Franklin (S’84-M’96) received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Texas A&M University, College Station, TX and M.S. and Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI in 1990 and 1995, respectively.

She is currently a Professor with Electrical and Computer Engineering department at the University of Minnesota. Her research interests include RF/microwave passive circuit design, interconnects and integration techniques using MEMS and other advanced fabrication processes, RF fluidics, and high speed material’s characterization. Her engineering education interests are in systems thinking, integrated learning, and active learning. She has authored or co-authored over 85 professional journals and conference publications and 4 book chapters.

Dr. Franklin was the recipient of the 1998 Presidential Career Award for Scientists and Engineers by the National Science Foundation. She is an active member of the MTT-S society in the technical area of passives, packaging, integration and microwave education and is currently an Associate Editor of the IEEE Microwave Wireless Components Letters.

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