Resolution in Memory of Robert E. Collin Robert E. Collin was born on October 24, 1928 in Alberta, Canada. He received the B.Sc. degree in engineering physics, with great distinction, from the University of Saskatchewan in 1951. He obtained the PhD degree in electrical engineering from the University of London (Imperial College) in 1954. From Feb. 1954 to 1958 he was a Scientific Officer at the Canadian Armament Research and Development Establishment where he worked on guided missile antennas, radomes, and radar system evaluations. During this time he was also an adjunct Professor at Laval University and taught a graduate course on microwaves. He joined the Electrical Engineering Department at Case Institute of Technology in 1958, now Case Western Reserve University. “Bob” was a Case faculty member from 1958 until 1997. He served as chairman of the EEAP Department from 1977-82, Acting Dean of Engineering 1983-84, and Interim Dean of Engineering, 1987-89. He pioneered research into numerous areas of electromagnetics publishing over 150 papers on topics including guided waves, random surface scattering, theory of small antennas, Dyadic Green’s functions, small aperture coupling and others. He authored or co-authored five books which are regarded as seminal in the field: Field Theory of Guided Waves, McGraw-Hill International Series in Pure and Applied Physics, translated into Polish and Chinese and published in revised second edition; Principles and Applications of Electromagnetic Fields, published also in a special Asiatic edition; Foundations for Microwave Engineering, translated into Japanese, German, Chinese, and Portugese and published in revised second edition; Antenna Theory; and Antennas and Radiowave Propagation. A Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Bob was honored by the IEEE Antennas and Propagation society with its Distinguished Career Award in 1999, the Schelkunoff Prize Paper Award in 1992, and its Electromagnetics Field Award in 1999. In 1990 Bob was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering for fundamental contributions to antenna theory, microwave engineering, and applied electromagnetic theory Additional honors include Outstanding Educator of America Award, 1975; CWRU Diekoff Award for Distinguished Graduate Teaching, 1984, and Distinguished Alumnus Award, Augustana University College. Over the years many of his former students discussed how grateful they were to have him as a teacher. Associates of these students also told them how fortunate they were. Bob was a member of the U.S.A. Commission B of URSI, Eta Kappa Nu, IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society, IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society, American Geophysical Union and served on the Army Research Advisory Board of the National Research Council Committee, the editorial board of Electromagnetics Waves and Applications, and was chair of both the CAEME Technical Advisory Board and the Army Research Office External Review Board.
Summer 2011 | 27