India-born Stanford University guru Arogyaswami Paulraj wins 2014 Marconi Prize

22nd January 2014
India-born Stanford University guru Arogyaswami Paulraj wins 2014 Marconi Prize
Dr A Paulraj.. honoured for his pioneering work on MIMO

Bangalore, January 22 2014: India-born scientist and Stanford University Emeritus Professor Arogyaswami Joseph Paulraj, has been awarded the 2014 Marconi Society Prize. The award, which comes with a $100,000 (Rs 62 lakhs) prize, is for his invention and advancement of MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) technology, a key enabler of wireless broadband services that benefit billions of people worldwide. MIMO is at the heart of the current WiFi and 4G mobile systems.
“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.” said Infosys Executive Chairman N R Narayana Murthy today.
The Marconi Prize comes just three years after Paulraj was honored with the other major Telecom technology award – the IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal for his work on theoretical foundations of MIMO.
Paulraj is the only India-born scientist to receive both the Marconi Prize and the Bell Medal - the two top global technology awards.
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Winning the Marconi Prize, Paulraj joins a very select group of top information technology (IT) pioneers such as Tim Berners-Lee (World Wide Web), Vint Cerf (Internet), Larry Page (Google Search), Marty Hellman (Public Key Cryptography) and Martin Cooper (Cell Phone).
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Before moving to the Stanford, Paulraj served for 25 years in the Indian Navy where he led a team to deliver a world class sonar (APSOH) in 1983. Former Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral R. H. Tahiliani said today, “The Navy is enormously proud of Paulraj's achievements and will remain always indebted for his landmark development of the APSOH sonar.
Paulraj was the founding director of three major labs -- Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR), Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC), Bangalore and the Central Research Labs (CRL) of Bharat Electronics.
After moving to Stanford University he built the world’s leading research group in MIMO, and founded two landmark companies in the US Silicon Valley to develop MIMO wireless systems. Paulraj’s many awards include the Padma Bhushan (2010).