Douglas Teeter (1964 – 2022): In Memoriam

Dr. Doug Teeter and his wife, Terri Stull, died tragically in a car crash March 28, 2022. Teeter was an alumnus of the department, graduating with his master’s and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering in 1988 and 1992, respectively, after receiving his bachelor’s degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute. He was co-advised by Professor Emeritus George Haddad and Research Scientist Emeritus Jack East.

“Doug and Terri were both such lovely and accomplished individuals and I am very saddened by their loss,” said Prof. Haddad. “Doug was an outstanding student and I enjoyed working with him. He was a very successful engineer and made many significant contributions to the design and implementation of many solid-state microwave devices and integrated circuits. He will be sorely missed by family, colleagues and the whole microwave community. I was fortunate to have Doug as one of my graduate students and as a friend and will miss all his greetings on holidays and other occasions.”

“Doug was always a model of collegiality,” said Dr. Jack East. “Even when he was preparing his thesis defense and planning his wedding, he found time to help a new graduate student, Jim Kempf, who was just starting his research in Doug’s field.  Doug gave Jim a notebook of all the secrets of doing research in his project.  Doug was always a friend to everyone.”

At Michigan, Doug was part of the first group of graduate students who helped found the Center for High-Frequency Microelectronics. This Center advanced the state-of-the-art in electronic and optoelectronic materials, devices, and integrated circuits. Founded in 1986 by Prof. Haddad, it was one of the first DoD-funded University Research Initiatives, and led to technology that is widely employed in low-noise receivers and used in communication and radar systems, wireless communication transmitters, and optical communication systems. This group pointed the way to the type of research that could be done in this field for years to come.

Upon graduating from Michigan, Doug began his career at Raytheon Technologies. During his time there, he developed HBT, pseudomorphic high electron-mobility transistor (pHEMT), and metamorphic high electron-mobility transistor (MHEMT) devices, models, and circuits. In 2000, he joined RF Micro Devices, Inc., which became Qorvo, Inc. in 2015. Qorvo provides RF solutions for advanced wireless devices. He was a team member that led to several award-winning designs earned by the world’s leading handset manufacturers. 

Doug was a frequent contributor to IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society (MTT-S)  and the International Microwave Symposium (IMS), as author of papers, serving as a reviewer and speaker, and as a member of IMS Steering Committees. He was a recognized leader in power amplifier development at Qorvo and in the MTT community. 

He was a member of three engineering honor societies Eta Kappa Nu, Tau Beta Pi, and Phi Kappa Phi.

Doug was a strong family man; he and his wife, who was also an engineer, had two boys who are now college students at the University of Massachusetts. Doug also had strong spiritual faith and was a deacon at his church in Lexington, MA and served communion every Sunday for twenty years.

On behalf of the surviving children, Doug’s church helped set up The Teeter-Stull Family Fund. Donations can be sent to the The Teeter-Stull Family Fund, c/o Enterprise Bank, 1666 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA 02421.

Additional Information

In Memoriam: Douglas Teeter, IEEE Microwave Theory & Techniques Society

Douglas Teeter, IEEE Explore