Dr Anand Gopinath 1936 – 2024
Obituary provided by Anand’s daughters, Juliet and Charlotte
Dr Anand Gopinath, a pioneer in the modeling of microwave strip lines, integrated optical structures, and signal processing for MRI, passed away on August 14, 2024. He is remembered for his significant contributions to the microwave, optics, and MRI communities, his dedication to teaching, and his generosity of spirit.
Anand was born on August 6, 1936 in Madras (now Chennai), India. He had a joyful disposition and a passion for excellence. As a young man, he learned to fly airplanes in the National Cadet Corps Air Wing and represented India in the International Air Rally in England. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Madras in 1957, followed by a Master’s Degree from IIT Kharagpur in 1960, and his Ph.D. and D. Eng. from the University of Sheffield in 1965.
Anand began his academic career as a Senior Lecturer at the University College of North Wales in Bangor (1966-1978). He then moved to the US to join MIT Lincoln Laboratory as a Research Staff Member (1978 – 1986). He then joined the faculty at the University of Minnesota’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (1986-2020). Over his 34-year tenure, he graduated 27 Ph.D. students, mentored undergraduate and Master’s students, and championed diversity and inclusion.
Anand’s research spanned microwave devices, optoelectronics and MRI signal processing. His early work used scanning electron microscopy to probe resistivity variations in Gallium Arsenide transferred electron devices. His work calculating the parameters of equivalent circuits of microstrip line discontinuities is still used today in microwave circuit design.
At MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Anand’s team demonstrated the first millimeter-wave monolithically integrated transmitters and transceivers on Galium Arsenide with diode and Metal Semiconducter Field Effect Transistors active elements.
At the University of Minnesota, Anand’s research in integrated optics focused on modeling and simulation of dielectric waveguides using finite element simulations, transverse field components, finite volume techniques, and boundary integral methods.
Anand was also instrumental in new device development. His innovations in coupler modulators included ultra-low voltage-lengths, high frequency operation, and synthesized-response modulators. In semiconductor lasers, he developed one of the first transverse injection ridge lasers, worked on high relaxation frequency unstrained lasers in GaAs/AlGaAs, and demonstrated novel techniques for producing high power, single-spatial-mode vertical cavity surface emitting lasers using external cavities and integrated spatial filters. He also designed high modulation frequency semiconductor optical amplifiers, an active 4X4 switch matrix, and polarization-insensitive semiconductor optical amplifiers in AlInGaAs using tensile strained quantum wells.
Anand made significant contributions to MRI technology, optimizing 7 Tesla TEM coils for optimal coupling of magnetic fields to the human body while limiting electric fields to ensure patient safety, in addition to developing computational models of multi-coil excitation.
Anand was recognized as a Fellow of Optica, IEEE, and IET. For his work on microstrip transmission lines, he was awarded IEEE MTT Society’s prestigious Microwave Application Award in 2017. Anand contributed to numerous books, including High Speed Electronics and Optoelectronics: Devices and Circuits (2009) and Safety and Biological Effects in MRI (2021).
Anand met his beloved wife, Marian, in England. They married in 1966, and had two daughters, Juliet and Charlotte. Anand was known for his exceptional intellect, love of learning, dry wit, and conviviality. He loved classical music and studied the cello. He enjoyed squash, speed walking, hiking and traveling.
Anand was preceded in death by his parents, Amba Bai and S. K. Gopinath, and his beloved wife, Marian. He is survived by his children, Juliet (Brian Lay) and Charlotte (Paul Tillberg), four grandchildren—Payal, Evan, Anjali and Kalyani—and his siblings, Vimala Ramakrishnan, Sudhir Gopinath and Srikanth Gopinath.
He will be dearly missed.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Anand Gopinath Family Scholarship in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), University of Minnesota Twin Cities, College of Science and Engineering: https://makingagift.umn.edu/give/fund.html?id=25581
Special thanks to the following contributors:
Dr. Jerry Hauser, Dr. Juliet Gopinath, Dr. Charlotte Gopinath, Dr. James Leger, Dr. Rhonda Franklin, Dr. Peter Herczfeld, Dr. Alwyn Seeds, Dr. Can Ugan, Dr. Michael Hill, Dr. Alan Willner
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