Stan Franklin received his undergraduate degree in mathematics from Memphis State University in 1959 and his doctoral degree in mathematics from University of California Los Angeles in 1963. For the next 9 years he went through adventures as a professor throughout the world, including Tulane University, University of Washington, UCLA, University of Florida, Carnegie Mellon University (7 years), Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur, Technion Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, and a Center in Mathematics in Amsterdam. He returned to University of Memphis in 1972 to serve as chair of Mathematical Sciences (1972-1984). His research interests started to shift from topology to intelligent systems. He co-founded and co-directed the Institute for Intelligent Systems in 1987. The University of Memphis recognized his work by awarding him the W. Harry Feinstone Interdisciplinary Research Professorship. This was a crowning achievement for his passion for interdisciplinary research in cognitive science and intelligent systems.
During his years as a professor at Carnegie Mellon University and serving as Chair at the University of Memphis, Stan had a serious interest in topology. He founded a journal called Topology and Its Applications. However, he cultivated new interests in intelligent systems and cognitive science in the mid-1980’s. He was interested in intelligent agents, cognitive and biological systems, and new models being developed in artificial intelligence. His new interests inspired the creation of the Institute for Intelligent Systems and his writing the book Artificial Minds that was published by MIT Press in 1995. He had a deep interest in how computers might simulate consciousness in addition to the more automated components of cognition. According to Google Scholar he has an i10-index of 125, which means that 125 of his published articles have been cited by 10 or more people. Most of his articles have included his dozens of masters and doctoral students.