2006 Alexander Graham Bell Medal

John M. Wozencraft’s pioneering work on error-correcting codes provided one of the foundations for the design of reliable digital transmission systems over the past 50 years. Coding is an integral part of today’s nearly error-free communications systems, including deep-space communication, the Internet and next-generation mobile telephony.

Based on the notion of random coding, sequential decoding was the first error-correcting algorithm whereby arbitrarily-accurate fixed-data-rate communication could be attained over noisy transmission channels with reasonable computational complexity. This approach paved the way for other algorithms that ultimately revolutionized the communications industry. It was a critical conceptual milestone in the evolution of error-correction coding from abstract mathematics to today’s palette of computationally practical error-correction techniques.

Sequential decoding became the method of choice for the low signal-to-noise ratio environment of deep space communications. It was first chosen for the Pioneer 9 deep space mission and was NASA's standard coding system for deep space for nearly a decade.

An IEEE Life Fellow, Dr. Wozencraft is Professor Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. He co-authored the book, "Principles of Communication Engineering," which sparked a revolution in how communications engineers think about digital communication. It was widely recognized as the bible of communications theory for more than two decades.