Ulrich L. Rohde

Ulrich Lothar Albert Rohde (born May 20, 1940 in Munich) is a German and American electrical engineer, entrepreneur, and university professor.

Education and career
After receiving his Abitur in Munich, Rohde studied electrical engineering at the Technische Hochschule München and the Technische Hochschule Darmstadt. In 1978, he received a doctorate in radio-frequency engineering and joined the Epsilon Sigma chapter of the Eta Kappa Nu society; he then completed an executive business administration programme at Columbia University in 1980. He received his Dr.-Ing. degree (doctorate in engineering) from the Technical University of Berlin in 2004, and his habilitation from the Brandenburg University of Technology in 2011.

Since 1973, Rohde has been a partner of Rohde & Schwarz in Munich, his father's company. From 1974 to 1982, he headed the US branch of Rohde & Schwarz; after that, he was managing director of an RCA defence subsidiary.

In 1977, Rohde was appointed as a professor at the University of Florida, and in 1982 at the George Washington University as an adjunct professor, of electrical engineering.

Rohde's professional interests include computer-aided design of microwave components, low-noise microwave oscillators and amplifiers as well as active antennas and state of the art HF/UHF systems. In these fields, he founded several companies and holds about 50 patents.

Awards
Rohde has been granted honorary doctorates by the Romanian universities of Oradea and Cluj-Napoca in 1997. In 2002, Rohde has been chosen as a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for "contributions to and leadership in the development and industrial implementation of microwave computer-aided design technology." He was appointed honorary senator by the Bundeswehr University Munich in 2008 and by the Brandenburg University of Technology in 2011. In 2021, he was awarded the Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

In 2023, he received the IEEE Distinguished Industry Leader Award "for the scientific contribution and leadership to the field of antennas and related communication systems, leading to development of state-of-the-art antenna products for industrial, military and aerospace applications."

On Sept. 11, 2023, the Radio Club of America said that Rohde would be honored by the club with the inauguration of a new award in 2023: “Dr. Ulrich L. Rohde Award for Innovation in Applied Radio Science and Engineering.” The club said that the award recognizes Rohde's significant contributions to innovation in the wireless industry and that it would inspire future generations of wireless professionals. The first recipient of the new award will be named in 2024, the club said.

In January 2024,  Dr. Ulrich L. Rohde was appointed “Fellow of Industry Academy” in the “International Artificial Intelligence Industry Alliance” based in Hong Kong.