Aaron D. Franklin

Dr. Aaron Franklin is the Addy Distinguished Professor in the Departments of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Chemistry at Duke, where he is also the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs in the Pratt School of Engineering. Dr. Franklin received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University in 2008 and then spent six years on the research staff at the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, NY.  In 2014, he joined the faculty at Duke where his group explores the use of 1D and 2D nanomaterials for high-performance nanoscale devices, low-cost printed and recyclable electronics, and biomedical sensing systems. He is most widely known for his work on low-dimensional nanoelectronics with specific emphasis on carbon nanotube (CNT) transistors, including device scaling, transport studies, and advanced integration approaches.  In addition to leading a scientific research group, Dr. Franklin has been actively involved in the translation of inventions out of the lab, holding more than 50 issued patents and being engaged in two funded start-ups, one of which was acquired by a Fortune 500 company. He is fellow of the IEEE and NAI and has published more than 100 scientific papers in the field of nanomaterial-based electronics.

Research in the Franklin group is focused on improving the performance and functionality of nanomaterial-enabled electronic devices. The primary drive is to improve performance of - and expand applications for - electronic devices, including those with more custom form factors and/or functionality (e.g., flexibility, transparency, biocompatibility, recyclability). There is an increasing variety of new electronics applications that nanomaterials are uniquely capable of enabling -- the Franklin group works to make such applications possible.