Ursula Franklin by serg6230 serg6230 https://padlet.com/serg6230/Franklin Sergio Perez en-us 2018-04-13 14:21:24 UTC 2025-12-20 15:01:41 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-uploads.storage.googleapis.com/281666004/78a15140601b5680e970beba1fbb7243/microscope.png Introduction serg6230 https://padlet.com/serg6230/Franklin/wish/251576045 Ursula Martius Franklin is a physicist, educator, feminist and social activist. She was born on September 16th, 1921 in Munich, Germany and died on July 22nd, 2016 in Toronto, Ontario. Her most important contributions were made in the field  of archaeometry.]]> 2018-04-13 14:32:33 UTC https://padlet.com/serg6230/Franklin/wish/251576045 Academic career serg6230 https://padlet.com/serg6230/Franklin/wish/251577846 Franklin decided to study science because she went to school during a time when most of the career options were close to women but, as she said: "there was no word of authority that could change the laws of physics"

In 1948, Franklin received her Ph.D. in experimental physics at the Technical University of Berlin.She began to look for opportunities to leave Germany to try to escape from repression.

Franklin moved to Canada after being offered the Lady Davis postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Toronto in 1949. She then worked for 15 years as a research fellow and senior research scientist at the Ontario Research Foundation.

 In 1967, Franklin became a researcher and associate professor at the Department of Metallurgy and Materials Science University of Toronto's Faculty of Engineering- She was promoted to full professor in 1973 and was given the designation of University Professor in 1984, becoming the first female professor to receive the university's highest honor. Finally, she was appointed professor emerita in 1987, a title she retained until her death.]]> 2018-04-13 14:35:36 UTC https://padlet.com/serg6230/Franklin/wish/251577846 Awards and honors serg6230 https://padlet.com/serg6230/Franklin/wish/251578382 Franklin received numerous awards and honors during her long career. 

She received honorary degrees from more than a dozen Canadian universities including a Doctor of Science from Queen's University and a Doctor of Humane Letters from Mount Saint Vincent University..

She was named Officer of the Order of Canada in 1981 and a Companion of the Order in 1992. She was appointed to the Order of Ontario in 1990. In 1982, she was given the award of merit for the City of Toronto. She received an honorary membership in the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International for women educators in 1985. Two years later, she was given the Elsie Gregory McGill memorial award for her contributions to education, science and technology. In 1989, she received the Wiegand Award which recognizes Canadians who have made significant contributions to the understanding of the human dimensions of science and technology. In 1991, she received a Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Person's Case for advancing the equality of girls and women in Canada. The same year, she received the Sir John William Dawson Medal. She received the 2001 Pearson Medal of Peace for her work in human rights. She has a Toronto high school named after her, Ursula Franklin Academy. In 2004, Franklin was awarded one of Massey College's first Adrienne ClarksonLaureateships, honoring outstanding achievement in public service. She was inducted into the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame in 2012. ]]> 2018-04-13 14:36:33 UTC https://padlet.com/serg6230/Franklin/wish/251578382 Research and major contributions serg6230 https://padlet.com/serg6230/Franklin/wish/251578969 Franklin was a pioneer in the field of archaeometry, which applies modern materials analysis to archaeology. She worked f on the dating of prehistoric bronze, copper and ceramic artifacts.

She participated in the Baby Tooth Survey, a project that investigated levels of strontium-90 (a radioactive isotope in fallout from nuclear weapons testing) in children's teeth. This research contributed to the cessation of atmospheric weapons testing.

Franklin published more than a hundred scientific papers and contributions to books on the structure and properties of metals and alloys as well as on the history and social effects of technology.


Franklin chaired an influential study on conserving resources and protecting nature when she was working for the Science Council of Canada. The study reported Canada as a Conserver Society, recommended a wide range of steps aimed at reducing wasteful consumption and the environmental degradation that goes with it. The work on that study helped shape Franklin's ideas about the complexities of modern technological society.


]]> 2018-04-13 14:37:41 UTC https://padlet.com/serg6230/Franklin/wish/251578969 Activism serg6230 https://padlet.com/serg6230/Franklin/wish/251582289 Throughout her career, Franklin worked to promote gender equality in Canada. Franklin believed that female scientists were treated in an unfair way, for example, they were often asked different questions than their male counterparts. 

As the first female professor in the Department of Metallurgy and Materials Science, Franklin received special permission from the University of Toronto to attend faculty meetings at Hart House, which did not allow women inside until 1972.

After her retirement as a professor in 1989, Franklin was a senior fellow at Massey College and continued to advocate for equality for women. In 2001, she joined three other female professors in launching a class-action suit against the University of Toronto, arguing that the university had underpaid its female professors compared to its male professors. As a result, approximately 60 retired female faculty members received financial compensation.]]> 2018-04-13 14:44:01 UTC https://padlet.com/serg6230/Franklin/wish/251582289 Book serg6230 https://padlet.com/serg6230/Franklin/wish/252381297 Franklin tackles modern day problems, such as the dilution of privacy and intellectual property rights, the impact of the current technology on government, the shift from consumer capitalism to investment capitalism, and the influence of the Internet upon the arts.]]> 2018-04-17 01:01:33 UTC https://padlet.com/serg6230/Franklin/wish/252381297