A&S alum and world-renowned physicist Melissa Franklin delivers Innis Alumni Lecture April 5

Headshot of Melissa Franklin

Melissa Franklin is a world-renowned physicist at Harvard University, whose many achievements include co-discovering the top quark and Higgs Boson and becoming Harvard’s first woman physicist to receive tenure. She is also an Innis College alumna (BSc ’77) with an unconventional pathway to U of T and beyond.

A&S News spoke with Melissa about her upcoming Innis Alumni Lecture (April 5, 7pm), her research interests, and her Toronto origins. 

"As a teen, she left high school and helped create the SEED Alternative School. She and her peers studied out of the basement of what is now the Jewish Community Centre, where they recruited U of T professors to teach them. The lack of a high school diploma proved a challenge for Franklin, who was dead set on going to U of T. 'I don’t know why Innis let me in, but I’m glad they did,' Franklin says."

Photo courtesy of Melissa Franklin