Saturday, October 4, 2014

India-born #Stanford scientist A.J. Paulraj awarded $100,000 Marconi Prize

Professor (Emeritus) Arogyaswami Joseph Paulraj, Stanford University, has been awarded the prestigious 2014 Marconi Society Prize. His idea for using multiple antennas at both the transmitting and receiving stations - which is at the heart of the current high speed WiFi and 4G mobile systems – has revolutionized high speed wireless delivery of multimedia services for billions of people.
“Paul (as he is commonly known) has made profound contributions to wireless technology, and the resulting benefit to mankind is indisputable. Every wifi router and 4G phone today uses MIMO technology pioneered by him,” says Professor Sir David Payne, Chairman of the Marconi Society and Director of the Optoelectronics Research Centre at the University of Southampton. “MIMO will soon be pervasive in all wireless devices. Moreover, Paulraj’s work has provided fertile ground for thousands of researchers to explore and advance MIMO’s potential to enhance wireless spectrum efficiency.”

“Paulraj’s brilliance and perseverance have revolutionized wireless technology bringing a lasting benefit to mankind. He is a wonderful role model for researchers all over the world.” says Mr. Narayana Murthy, Executive Chairman Infosys and a noted pioneer of IT Services.

Although Paul and his wife Nirmala live on the Stanford campus, they are frequent visitors to India, where Paul emphasizes the need for India to build its own telecom technology industry. He hopes to find more ways to contribute personally to that goal.

The Marconi Society was established in 1974 through an endowment set up by Gioia Marconi Braga, daughter of Guglielmo Marconi, the Nobel laureate who invented radio (wireless telegraphy). It is best known for the Marconi Prize, awarded annually to an outstandingindividual/s whose scope of work and influence emulate the principle of “creativity in service to humanity” that inspired Marconi. Through symposia, conferences, forums and publications, the Marconi Society promotes awareness of major innovations in communication theory, technology and applications with particular attention to understanding how they change and benefit society.