Dr. Kawthar Zaki was the First Female Professor Hired Within the College of Engineering at the University of Maryland

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Generations of women have contributed to engineering, and Clark School women are proud to be part of that tradition. In honor of women’s history month, the Clark School is celebrating one female engineering faculty member each day. Read about today’s featured faculty member, Dr. Kawthar Zaki.

Kawthar Zaki is a Professor Emeritus in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Maryland. She received the B.S. degree (with honors) from Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt, in 1962 and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California at Berkeley, in 1966 and 1969 respectively all in electrical engineering. She was the first woman to be conferred a Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Berke­ley. In 1970, she was the first female professor hired within the College of Engineering at the University of Maryland where her interest spanned microwaves, millimeter waves and optical devices. She has also been interested in computer-aided design. Zaki has been awarded six patents and numerous honors including the 1971 University of Maryland Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering George Corcoran Award for Significant Contributions to Electrical Engineering Education in Recognition of Teaching and Educational Leadership at the College Park Campus, Effective Contribution at the National Level, and Creative and other Scholarly Activities directed to EE Education. She is a Fellow of the IEEE.

Published April 3, 2017