Andrew J. Viterbi, Co-Founder of Qualcomm, Named 2010 IEEE Medal of Honor Recipient

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[December 09, 2009]

Andrew J. Viterbi, Co-Founder of Qualcomm, Named 2010 IEEE Medal of Honor Recipient

PISCATAWAY, N.J. --(Business Wire)-- IEEE, the world's largest technical professional association, announced that IEEE Life Fellow Andrew J. Viterbi, co-founder of Qualcomm (News - Alert) Incorporated and developer of wireless technologies that became the international standard for third-generation cellular phones, has been named the 2010 IEEE (News - Alert) Medal of Honor recipient. The Medal of Honor, IEEE's highest award, will be presented 26 June 2010 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada as part of IEEE's annual Honors Ceremony.

Viterbi, who received the National Medal of Science in 2008 (administered by the National Science Foundation and presented by the President of the United States), is being recognized for "seminal contributions to communications technology and theory." In the mid-1960s, while a professor at UCLA, he developed the Viterbi Algorithm, a breakthrough in wireless technology that separated information (voice and data) from background noise. All four international standards for third-generation digital cellular communications as well as most digital satellite communications systems use the Viterbi Algorithm. In 1985, Viterbi co-founded Qualcomm with Irwin Jacobs and helped develop Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology, which applied spread spectrum to cellular phones.

A past recipient of the IEEE/Royal Society of Edinburgh James Clerk Maxwell Award, IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal and IEEE Claude E. Shannon Award, Viterbi is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Viterbi currently serves as president of the Viterbi Group, LLC, San Diego, Calif., an equity investment fund he established in 2000. The Viterbi Group advises and invests in early and emerging companies that are pioneering innovative technologies in the areas of wireless communications; network infrastructure; and image, optical and signal processing.

The IEEE Medal of Honor is one of 21 medals, awards and recognitions that will be presented at the 2010 IEEE Honors Ceremony. This includes the IEEE Corporate Innovation Recognition, which will be presented to Samsung (News - Alert) Electronics Co., Ltd. of Korea, for "the innovative conception, development and deployment of Mobile WiMAX technology that enables the true ubiquity of mobile communications." This year's list of worldwide recipients also includes those from Italy, Canada, Japan, India and the U.S.

Read the full list of 2010 IEEE medal recipients at http://www.ieee.org/portal/pages/about/awards/pr/2010_mdl_recips.html About IEEE IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.), the world's largest technical professional society, is commemorating its 125th anniversary in 2009 by "Celebrating 125 Years of Engineering the Future" around the globe. Through its more than 375,000 members in 160 countries, IEEE is a leading authority on a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics. Dedicated to the advancement of technology, IEEE publishes 30 percent of the world's literature in the electrical and electronics engineering and computer science fields, and has developed nearly 900 active industry standards. The organization annually sponsors more than 850 conferences worldwide. Additional information about IEEE can be found at http://www.ieee.org.

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