Eliot D. Cohen

Eliot D. Cohen passed away on June 17, 2026, at the age of 84. He was born on March 10, 1942, in North Potomac, Maryland, USA. He received the bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and the M.Sc. degree from The George Washington University, Washington, DC, in 1963 and 1966, respectively. He did additional graduate work at The George Washington University between 1967 and 1972.  His engineering career began at the Naval Research Laboratory in 1963, where he performed research on microwave devices and circuits.

Eliot Cohen was with the USA Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), where he led and managed one of the largest and most influential research and development government programs focused on Microwave Monolithic Integrated Circuits (MMICs), which operated from 1987 to 1995. As the director of the DARPA MIMIC Program, Cohen contributed to the accelerated development of reliable low-cost high-performance military systems and commercial products employing microwave integrated circuits. He was a key government and technological leader of multiple research teams, each involving several companies, to realize state-of-the-art industrial research and practical demonstrations of MMIC technology. Leaded by his optimism, ambitious technical goals, and understanding of technological matters, the DARPA MIMIC Program resulted in a major and very singular technology driver and a key catalyzer of very advanced and reliable RF and microwave devices and technologies that are used by nearly everyone nowadays.

The IEEE acknowledged Eliot Cohen’s achievements by elevating him to IEEE Fellow at a time when non-research careers were uncommon to be recognized. In 2018, he was recipient of the Microwave Career Award from the MTT Society, for a “Career of Leadership, Meritorious Achievement, Creativity and Outstanding Contributions in the Field of Microwave Theory and Techniques.” He was also recipient of the IEEE 3rd Millennium Medal and Member of the Space Technology Hall of Fame. Eliot Cohen served as the MTT-S President in 1995.

Eliot Cohen was pre-deceased in death by her loving wife Barbara Susan Cohen. He was a devoted father of Gregory (Nicole) Cohen and Bonnie (Jason) Egnal. He was survived by five cherished grandchildren: Alaina Claire Egnal, Zachary Noah Egnal, Rose Garra Cohen, Kayla Ann Cohen, and Bella Sonya Cohen.