Irwin Jacobs and Andrew Viterbi

Irwin Jacobs and Andrew Viterbi have been instrumental in the growth and evolution of the wireless communications industry. As two of the co-founders of QUALCOMM Incorporated, Jacobs and Viterbi pioneered Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology, used in a variety of applications including cellular telecommunications, global positioning systems (GPS) and satellite-based transportation logistics systems.

 Under the leadership of Jacobs and Viterbi, QUALCOMM grew into a Fortune 500 company, with annual revenues in excess of $7.5 billion. The company has introduced numerous technologies that are key elements, including the Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless (BREW) applications platform, dedicated to enabling development and deployment of wireless data applications and service; the MediAFLO technology and network for supporting multiple channels of high quality television to cellular handsets; QChat push-to-talk technology; Eudora e-mail software; digital cinema systems and satellite systems for applications such as wireless fleet management.

 Dr. Jacobs served as QUALCOMM’s CEO until 2005 and currently serves as its chairman. An IEEE Fellow and member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS), he has received numerous awards and holds 13 CDMA patents. He currently is chairman of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA. Dr. Jacobs holds a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. and masters and doctorate in electrical engineering from MIT, Cambridge, MA.

Dr. Viterbi held the positions of chief technology officer until 1996 and vice-chairman at QUALCOMM until his retirement in 2000, when he founded Viterbi Group, LLC. An IEEE Fellow, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has received six honorary doctorates and numerous awards in the U.S. and internationally. Dr. Viterbi holds both a bachelor’s and masters of science from MIT, Cambridge, MA and a doctorate from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, all in electrical engineering.