SPIE Fellow Manijeh Razeghi has received a Benjamin Franklin Medal for "the realization of high-power terahertz frequency sources operating at room temperature using specially designed and manufactured semiconductor lasers, which enables a new generation of imagers, chemical/biological sensors, and ultra-broadband wireless communication systems."
Dating back to 1824, the Franklin Institute Awards Program provides public recognition and encouragement of excellence for scientists and engineers who have changed the world.
Known as one of the leading scientists in the field of semiconductor science and technology, the Iranian-born Razeghi raised three children while getting a doctorate in nuclear physics.
A pioneer in the development and implementation of major modern epitaxial techniques, Razeghi and her team are developing lasers that will detect explosives and pathogens at the molecular level, provide a non-invasive method for studying hidden layers in Renaissance paintings, and lead to superfast WiFi.
Razeghi is the Walter P. Murphy Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Northwestern University and is the founder and director of the university's Center for Quantum Devices.
See the Franklin Institute press release and video.