UCSB electrical engineering professor Mark Rodwell recently received the Doluca Family Chair in Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Sponsored by UCSB alumnus Tunc Doluca and his wife Lale, the award includes a $500,000 endowment for the ECE department, recognizing exceptional achievements in the field of analog and mixed signal design. Rodwell received the prize for his work with high frequency radio, high-speed optical communications and powerful imaging applications.

Rodwell said the endowment will yield more extensive research, therefore enhancing the department’s prestigious reputation.

“It is an honor to receive an endowed chair,” Rodwell said. “It recognizes that the work that we are doing is significant and of value. It also provides additional support for the electrical engineering department.”

A UCSB faculty member since 1990, Rodwell holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University. He is the president and chief executive officer of Maxim Integrated Products — a corporation that designs and manufactures high performance semi-conductors. He has also worked on the development of ultra high-speed wireless links in the “Terahertz Gap” as well as high-resolution cameras and imagers for detecting concealed objects.

Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Chair Jerry Gibson said endowed chairs are prestigious academic awards that are essential to the success of the department’s research.

Rodwell also directs both the SRC Nonclassical CMOS Research Center and UCSB Nanofabrication laboratory. UCSB’s ECE department was ranked fifth in the nation by the National Research Council and is the top-ranked ECE department within the UC system.