Ursula Franklin

Physicist, humanitarian

• Born: September 16, 1921
• Birthplace: Munich, Germany
• Died: July 22, 2016
• Place of death: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Also known as: Ursula Martius Franklin

Education: University of Berlin; University of Toronto

Significance: Ursula Franklin's work as a scientist and humanitarian earned her extensive honors throughout her career. Known for her pacifist approach to science and activism, Franklin regularly advocated for peaceful solutions to global issues. She was also known for her commentaries on the effects of technology in politics and society.

Background

Ursula Franklin was born Ursula Martius in Munich, Germany, on September 16, 1921. Her father was an ethnographer, and her mother was an art historian. Franklin was of Jewish ethnicity on her mother's side. Her father was raised in the Protestant faith. Franklin began attending Berlin University in 1940 where she first became fascinated by the fields of physics and metallurgy, or the study of the structures and properties of metals. Her studies came to a halt when the Nazi regime began expelling Jewish students from school. Franklin was later arrested and sent to a Nazi work camp, where she remained for eighteen months.

Franklin survived her time at the camp and returned to Berlin University after her liberation. She earned her doctorate degree in experimental physics in 1948. She then traveled to Canada on a post-doctoral fellowship to study at the University of Toronto. In 1952, she began working as a research fellow at the Ontario Research Foundation. She spent fifteen years with the foundation, working her way up to senior research scientist. In 1967, she took a position as an associate professor at the University of Toronto's Department of Metallurgy and Materials Science. She became a full professor and was the first woman at the university to be given the title of university professor in 1984. Three years later, the University of Toronto named Franklin professor emerita following her retirement from teaching. She served as the director of the university's Museum Studies Program from 1987 to 1989. Franklin became a fellow at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education in 1988 and was named a senior fellow of Massey College in 1989.

Life's Work

Franklin made significant contributions to the science of metallurgy during her career. She was a pioneer in the field of archaeometry, a dating method that more accurately measures the age of archaeological materials. Using her method, Franklin was able to tell the age of copper, bronze, metal, and ceramic artifacts of prehistoric Canadian cultures. She also had a role in researching the effects of fallout from nuclear-weapons testing in Canada during the 1960s, collecting and analyzing data on the buildup of strontium-90—a radioactive element produced by nuclear fission—in the teeth of Canadian children. The conclusions made from this research encouraged the US government to implement an atmospheric nuclear test ban in 1963. Franklin worked with the Science Council of Canada and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to develop the nation's science policy throughout the 1970s and 1980s. She was also an active member of Science for Peace, a scientific organization that promotes peace worldwide.

Alongside her many scientific achievements, Franklin also became well known for her advocacy of social justice. She was especially involved in antiwar and feminist causes. Franklin considered herself a pacifist and was a devoted member of the Quaker faith. She cofounded the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace in 1960. She supported a campaign to exclude conscientious objectors from having to pay income taxes that would be used for military expenses in the 1980s. Franklin repeatedly voiced her opposition to war and violence in her essays and speeches over the years, emphasizing peaceful resolutions to conflict. In an interview following the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, Franklin stated a war on terrorism and the violence caused by it would not achieve peace. She stressed the importance of working toward a peaceful solution in the wake of suffering to thwart further sorrow.

Franklin was also wary of the growth of globalization in the wake of the Cold War, and was concerned that an increase in global competition would hinder the development of peaceful societies. This concern extended into her views on technology. Franklin worried about the impact advancing technologies might have on globalization and the future of human civilization. She encouraged technology makers to hold themselves accountable for the effects their inventions could have on society and believed all humans had an obligation to ensure the safety of both the planet and its inhabitants.

Franklin's peaceful activism also extended into feminist campaigns. She strongly supported the feminist movement and believed feminism could change society for the better as long as it promoted equality, cooperation, and compassion among all people. At times, Franklin involved herself in challenging the patriarchal structures of society. She was involved in a lawsuit against the University of Toronto alleging that female faculty members were paid less than equally qualified male staff. The university settled the case in 2002, admitting that many former female professors were subject to gender discrimination and unequal pay during their careers. After more than five decades as an active promoter of peace in science and society, Franklin spent the last several years of her life in a nursing home where she died on July 22, 2016, at the age of ninety-four.

Impact

Franklin earned multiple honors for her work within the scientific and activist communities throughout her career. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1981 and later named a Companion of the Order in 1992. She was also named a fellow in the Royal Society of Canada in 1988. Franklin was showered with numerous awards during her lifetime including the Royal Society's Sir John William Dawson Medal, the Pearson Medal of Peace, and the Diamond Jubilee Medal. She was inducted into the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame in 2012. Franklin's work as a pacifist, activist, researcher, and educator had a lasting effect on all those involved in her efforts, and she was remembered as an individual who lived her convictions.

Personal Life

Franklin married German engineer Fred Franklin in 1952. The couple had two children together.

Bibliography

Doherty, Brennan. "Renowned University of Toronto Scientist Ursula Franklin Dead at 94." Star, 23 July 2016, www.thestar.com/news/gta/2016/07/23/renowned-university-of-toronto-scientist-ursula-franklin-dead-at-94.html. Accessed 1 Mar. 2017.

Franklin, Ursula. The Ursula Franklin Reader: Pacifism as a Map.Between the Lines, 2006.

Meyer, Robinson. "Amazing Structure: A Conversation with Ursula Franklin." Atlantic,11 Mar. 2014, www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/03/amazing-structure-a-conversation-with-ursula-franklin/284349/. Accessed 1 Mar. 2017.

Rumley, Jonathan. "Ursula Franklin, Renowned Canadian Scientist, Dead at 94" CBC News,26 July 2016, www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ursula-franklin-dead-1.3692502. Accessed 1 Mar. 2017.

"Ursula Franklin Biography." Ursula Franklin Academy, www.ufacademy.org/ursula-franklin-biography/. Accessed 1 Mar. 2017.

"Ursula Martius Franklin Fonds." University of Toronto, utarms.library.utoronto.ca/ursula-martius-franklin-fonds. Accessed 1 Mar. 2017.

Valpy, Michael. "UofT Recognizes Female Academics Faced Barriers." Globe and Mail, 21 Mar. 2009, www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/uoft-recognizes-female-academics-faced-barriers/article25295351/. Accessed 1 Mar. 2017.