Christopher Rose (Fellow, IEEE) received the S.B., S.M., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA, in 1979, 1981, and 1985, respectively. 

He has encouraged his communications theory students to think creatively and dream big in realizing important technologies benefitting society with pioneering team-based capstone design courses. He was an early champion of the capstone concept while at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA. He challenged his students by asking how they would like to see wireless technology change the world and gave them to tools and support to do so. Successful before-their-time results from his students’ capstone projects included wireless parking meters and parking decks, an app that monitors vital statistics of firefighters, and an energy-saving mesh network for reactive lighting. The team-based, big-picture interdisciplinary research opportunities of these courses attract women and underrepresented minorities to the field, and he has also devoted significant time and effort to mentoring young, underrepresented faculty, and students at universities across the country. He is a Professor of Engineering and an Associate Provost for STEM Initiatives with Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.