Andrew Viterbi
Encyclopedia
Andrew James Viterbi, Ph.D. (Bergamo (Italy) March 9, 1935) is an Italian-American
electrical engineer and businessman who co-founded Qualcomm Inc.
Viterbi was born in Bergamo
, Italy
to Jewish parents and emigrated with them in 1939 to the United States
as a refugee. His original name was Andrea, but when he was naturalized in the US, his parents changed it to Andrew, since Andrea is a female name in many English-speaking countries.
, and then entered MIT
in 1952, studying electrical engineering. He received both BS
and MS
in Electrical Engineering
in 1957 from MIT
.
He worked at Raytheon
and later at Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(in Pasadena
), where he started working on telemetry for guided missiles, helping also to develop the phase-locked loop
. Simultaneously he was carrying out a PhD
study at the University of Southern California
, where he graduated in 1963 in digital communications.
(UCLA).
Viterbi was later a professor of electrical engineering
at UCLA and UCSD. In 1967 he invented the Viterbi algorithm
, which he used for decoding convolutionally encoded data. It is still used widely in cellular phones for error correcting codes, as well as for speech recognition
, DNA analysis, and many other applications of Hidden Markov model
s. On advice of a lawyer, Viterbi did not patent the algorithm.
Viterbi also helped to develop the CDMA
standard for cell phone networks.
Viterbi was the cofounder of Linkabit
Corporation, with Irwin Jacobs
in 1968, a small military contractor. He was also the co-founder of Qualcomm
Inc. with Dr. Jacobs in 1985. , he is the president of the venture capital company The Viterbi Group.
In 1998 he was one of the few receiving a Golden Jubilee Award for Technological Innovation from the IEEE Information Theory Society
. Viterbi earned it for "the invention of the Viterbi algorithm". In 2002, Viterbi dedicated the Andrew Viterbi '52 Computer Center at his alma mater, Boston Latin School. On March 2, 2004, the University of Southern California
School of Engineering was renamed the Viterbi School of Engineering
in his honor, following his $52 million donation to the school. He is a member of the USC Board of Trustee
s.
He is also on the Board of Trustees at The Scripps Research Institute
.
He is also founding member of ISSNAF (The Italian Scientists and Scholars in North America Foundation).
In 2005, he was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Electrical Engineering.
Viterbi and Irwin M. Jacobs
received the 2007 IEEE/RSE Wolfson James Clerk Maxwell Award, for "fundamental contributions, innovation, and leadership that enabled the growth of wireless telecommunications".
In September 2008, he was awarded the National Medal of Science
for developing "the 'Viterbi algorithm,' and for his contributions to Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) wireless technology that transformed the theory and practice of digital communications."
In 2010, he received the IEEE Medal of Honor
and in the same year he also received the IIC Lifetime Achievement Award by the Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles.
Viterbi is married to Erna Finci, with whom he has three children.
Italian American
An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...
electrical engineer and businessman who co-founded Qualcomm Inc.
Qualcomm
Qualcomm is an American global telecommunication corporation that designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services based on its code division multiple access technology and other technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, USA...
Viterbi was born in Bergamo
Bergamo
Bergamo is a town and comune in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan. The comune is home to over 120,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent the metropolitan area of Milan...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
to Jewish parents and emigrated with them in 1939 to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as a refugee. His original name was Andrea, but when he was naturalized in the US, his parents changed it to Andrew, since Andrea is a female name in many English-speaking countries.
Education
Viterbi attended the Boston Latin SchoolBoston Latin School
The Boston Latin School is a public exam school founded on April 23, 1635, in Boston, Massachusetts. It is both the first public school and oldest existing school in the United States....
, and then entered MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in 1952, studying electrical engineering. He received both BS
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
and MS
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
in Electrical Engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
in 1957 from MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
.
He worked at Raytheon
Raytheon
Raytheon Company is a major American defense contractor and industrial corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. It was previously involved in corporate and special-mission aircraft until early 2007...
and later at Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Jet Propulsion Laboratory is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center located in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The facility is headquartered in the city of Pasadena on the border of La Cañada Flintridge and Pasadena...
(in Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
), where he started working on telemetry for guided missiles, helping also to develop the phase-locked loop
Phase-locked loop
A phase-locked loop or phase lock loop is a control system that generates an output signal whose phase is related to the phase of an input "reference" signal. It is an electronic circuit consisting of a variable frequency oscillator and a phase detector...
. Simultaneously he was carrying out a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
study at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, where he graduated in 1963 in digital communications.
Further career
After Ph.D. he applied successfully for an academic position at University of California, Los AngelesUniversity of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
(UCLA).
Viterbi was later a professor of electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
at UCLA and UCSD. In 1967 he invented the Viterbi algorithm
Viterbi algorithm
The Viterbi algorithm is a dynamic programming algorithm for finding the most likely sequence of hidden states – called the Viterbi path – that results in a sequence of observed events, especially in the context of Markov information sources, and more generally, hidden Markov models...
, which he used for decoding convolutionally encoded data. It is still used widely in cellular phones for error correcting codes, as well as for speech recognition
Speech recognition
Speech recognition converts spoken words to text. The term "voice recognition" is sometimes used to refer to recognition systems that must be trained to a particular speaker—as is the case for most desktop recognition software...
, DNA analysis, and many other applications of Hidden Markov model
Hidden Markov model
A hidden Markov model is a statistical Markov model in which the system being modeled is assumed to be a Markov process with unobserved states. An HMM can be considered as the simplest dynamic Bayesian network. The mathematics behind the HMM was developed by L. E...
s. On advice of a lawyer, Viterbi did not patent the algorithm.
Viterbi also helped to develop the CDMA
Code division multiple access
Code division multiple access is a channel access method used by various radio communication technologies. It should not be confused with the mobile phone standards called cdmaOne, CDMA2000 and WCDMA , which are often referred to as simply CDMA, and use CDMA as an underlying channel access...
standard for cell phone networks.
Viterbi was the cofounder of Linkabit
Linkabit
Linkabit was a technology company founded in 1968 by Irwin M. Jacobs, Andrew Viterbi and Leonard Kleinrock. Linkabit created a large number of technology companies, most notably, Qualcomm. Linkabit is currently a division of L-3 Communications....
Corporation, with Irwin Jacobs
Irwin M. Jacobs
Irwin Mark Jacobs , is an electrical engineer and the co-founder and former chairman of Qualcomm, and chair of the board of trustees of the Salk Institute. In 2010, Jacobs was listed as number 828 on Forbes's annual list of the World's Top Billionaires.-Education:Jacobs earned his B.S...
in 1968, a small military contractor. He was also the co-founder of Qualcomm
Qualcomm
Qualcomm is an American global telecommunication corporation that designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services based on its code division multiple access technology and other technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, USA...
Inc. with Dr. Jacobs in 1985. , he is the president of the venture capital company The Viterbi Group.
IEEE Information Theory Society
The IEEE Information Theory Society , formerly the IEEE Information Theory Group, is a professional society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers focused on several aspects of information: its processing, transmission, storage, and usage; and the "foundations of the...
. Viterbi earned it for "the invention of the Viterbi algorithm". In 2002, Viterbi dedicated the Andrew Viterbi '52 Computer Center at his alma mater, Boston Latin School. On March 2, 2004, the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
School of Engineering was renamed the Viterbi School of Engineering
Viterbi School of Engineering
The Viterbi School of Engineering is located at the University of Southern California in the United States. It was renamed following a $52 million donation by Andrew Viterbi...
in his honor, following his $52 million donation to the school. He is a member of the USC Board of Trustee
Trustee
Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...
s.
He is also on the Board of Trustees at The Scripps Research Institute
The Scripps Research Institute
The Scripps Research Institute is an American medical research facility that focuses on research in the basic biomedical sciences. Headquartered in La Jolla, California, with a sister facility in Jupiter, Florida, the institute is home to 3,000 scientists, technicians, graduate students, and...
.
He is also founding member of ISSNAF (The Italian Scientists and Scholars in North America Foundation).
In 2005, he was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Electrical Engineering.
Viterbi and Irwin M. Jacobs
Irwin M. Jacobs
Irwin Mark Jacobs , is an electrical engineer and the co-founder and former chairman of Qualcomm, and chair of the board of trustees of the Salk Institute. In 2010, Jacobs was listed as number 828 on Forbes's annual list of the World's Top Billionaires.-Education:Jacobs earned his B.S...
received the 2007 IEEE/RSE Wolfson James Clerk Maxwell Award, for "fundamental contributions, innovation, and leadership that enabled the growth of wireless telecommunications".
In September 2008, he was awarded the National Medal of Science
National Medal of Science
The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social sciences, biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and...
for developing "the 'Viterbi algorithm,' and for his contributions to Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) wireless technology that transformed the theory and practice of digital communications."
In 2010, he received the IEEE Medal of Honor
IEEE Medal of Honor
The IEEE Medal of Honor is the highest recognition of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers . It has been awarded since 1917, when its first recipient was Major Edwin H. Armstrong. It is given for an exceptional contribution or an extraordinary career in the IEEE fields of...
and in the same year he also received the IIC Lifetime Achievement Award by the Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles.
Viterbi is married to Erna Finci, with whom he has three children.
External links
- IEEE History Center Interview
- The Quiet Genius, Trudy E. Bell (PDF)
- Noteworthy alumni page at MIT
- Video: Andrew Viterbi on Fascist Italy, US Jews and Primo Levi
Further reading
- Brodsky, Ira. "The History of Wireless: How Creative Minds Produced Technology for the Masses" (Telescope Books, 2008)