Allen Taflove received B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical
engineering from Northwestern University in 1971, 1972, and 1975,
respectively. Since 1988, he has been a professor in Northwestern's
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Since 1972, Allen
has pioneered finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) computational
electrodynamics. He coined the FDTD acronym in 1980, and in 1990 was
the first person to be named an IEEE Fellow in this area. Currently,
FDTD is one of the most widely used methods for solving Maxwell's
equations, with hundreds of papers published each year and numerous
software packages developed by academic, commercial, and government
organizations. In 1995, Allen authored Computational Electrodynamics:
The Finite-Difference Time-Domain Method. Now in its third edition,
this book has total sales approaching 10,000 volumes and more than
one-dozen university adoptions. Overall, Allen has authored or
co-authored 5 books, 14 book chapters, more than 100 refereed journal
papers, approximately 250 conference papers, and 14 U.S. patents. He
is listed on ISIHighlyCited.com, the Institute of Scientific
Information's compilation of the most-cited researchers worldwide.
Allen has been the thesis advisor of 20 Ph.D. recipients. Three of
his Ph.D. graduates, all women, hold tenured or tenure-track positions
in electrical engineering departments of major universities. His
undergraduate teaching has also been recognized with his naming as a
Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence, and his
selection to the Associated Student Government honor roll of best
teachers for the past four consecutive years.
Research Interests
Allen's research interests span much of the electromagnetic spectrum. He and his students are currently modeling electrodynamic phenomena ranging from potential earthquake precursors arising from geophysically induced ultralow-frequency wave propagation about the Earth, to potential colon cancer precursors arising from optical backscattering from early-stage epithelial malignancy. The principle that "Maxwell's equations work from dc to light" and for the benefit of human society is vividly demonstrated in his laboratory every day.
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