Obituary: Mark Franklin, former professor of engineering, 81

Helped to initiate undergraduate degree program in computer engineering

Mark A. Franklin, former professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, who taught for four decades, died Tuesday, May 25, 2021, from complications of Alzheimer’s disease in Berkeley, Calif. He was 81.

Franklin

Franklin joined the Washington University faculty in 1970 and retired in 2011 as the Hugo F. and Ina Champ Urbauer Professor of Engineering. His work focused on computer architecture and parallel processing approaches and pioneered unique mappings between algorithms and novel hardware design. He co-wrote several books and more than 100 technical papers.

Franklin is survived by two children: son Jonathan Ajo-Franklin (Caroline) of Houston, and daughter Laura (Andrew) Franklin-Hall of Toronto and New York City; five grandchildren; and a brother, David (Fran) Franklin.

A memorial service will be held in early fall 2021. To attend in person or virtually, contact Jonathan.ajofranklin@gmail.com.

Read the full obituary on the engineering website.