Paulraj developed faster wireless connectivity.
AB Wire
Indian-born Stanford University professor Arogyaswami Paulraj, who together with his team developed faster wireless connectivity, which makes it possible to send large amounts of data over frequencies with limited bandwidth, is in the reckoning in the ‘Non-European Countries’ category to win the European Inventor Award 2016.
Along with Paulraj, the two other candidates vying for the prize are Hugh Herr for his bionic leg prostheses, and Robert Langer, also from the US, for the invention of anti-cancer drugs that are encapsulated in biodegradable plastics.
The European Patent Office (EPO) will present the European Inventor Award 2016 on June 9 in Lisbon. One of the 15 finalists will also be crowned winner of the Popular Prize, according to a press release.
While the awards in the five categories “Industry”, “Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)“, “Research”, “Non-European countries” and “Lifetime achievement” are decided by an international jury, the public alone decides which inventor takes home the Popular Prize. Every vote counts and it is easy to take part: An online poll open to everyone runs until May 31 on the www.epo.org andwww.facebook.com/europeanpatentoffice.
Paulraj is a pioneer of MIMO wireless communications, a technology break through that enables improved wireless performance. MIMO is now incorporated into all new wireless systems.
Paulraj is the author of over 400 research papers, two text books and a co-inventor in 59 US patents, according to Stanford Univesity.
Paulraj has won over a dozen awards, notably the Marconi Prize and Fellowship, 2014 and the IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal, 2011. He is a fellow of seven scientific academies including the US National Academy of Engineering and the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences. He is a fellow of IEEE and AAAS.
In 1999, Paulraj founded Iospan Wireless Inc. – which developed and established MIMO-OFDMA wireless as the core 4G technology. Iospan was acquired in by Intel Corporation in 2003. In 2004, Paulraj
He co-founded Beceem Communications Inc. The company became the market leader in 4G-WiMAX semiconductor and was acquired by Broadcom Corp. in 2010.
During his 30 years in the Indian (Navy) (1961-1991), he founded three national level laboratories in India and headed one of India’s most successful military R&D projects – APSOH sonar. He received over a dozen awards (many at the national level) in India including the Padma Bhushan, Ati Vishist Seva Medal and the VASVIK Medal.
All 15 finalists and their inventions are presented on the EPO website so the public can pick their favorite. Voters will be entered into a draw, giving them the chance to win a prize. One vote is possible every 24 hours until the closing date.
Vying to be the public’s pick in the Industry category are Italian food scientists Virna Cerne and Ombretta Polenghi for inventing a gluten substitute from corn, the German team of Bernhard Gleich and Jürgen Weizenecker for Magnetic Particle Imaging (MPI), and the Belgian-French team of Joan Daemen and Pierre-Yvan Liardet for their contribution to the development of secure smartcard encryption.
In the SMEs category, the three finalists in the running are: Danes Tue Johannessen, Ulrich Quaade, Claus Hviid Christensen and Jens Kehlet Nørskov for a novel method for reducing smog from diesel vehicles, French researcher Helen Lee for developing a diagnostic kit for developing countries, as well as Lithuanian scientist Arminas Ragauskas for inventing a safer way of measuring brain pressure by means of ultrasound.
In the category Research, contenders for the Popular Prize are: Frenchman Alim-Louis Benabid, for his invention of a new method for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, Portuguese couple Elvira Fortunato and Rodrigo Martins for developing paper transistors, and Czech engineer Miroslav Sedláček for a fluid turbine that harnesses the energy of slower-moving water to generate electricity.
In Lifetime achievement, the following inventors have a chance of winning the Popular Prize: French cardiologist Alain Carpentier for his implantable artificial heart, the Swede Tore Curstedt, inventor of an effective drug to treat respiratory distress syndrome in premature babies, as well as Dutch-German automotive engineer Anton van Zanten, who developed electronic stability control (ESC) for cars.