Marty Cooper of Dyna, LLC

Biography:

Martin Cooper is an engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, and futurist. He is known as the “father of the cell phone.” He led the creation of the world’s first cell phone at Motorola—and made the first public call on it. Over nearly three decades at Motorola, Cooper contributed to the development of pagers, two-way radio dispatch systems, quartz crystal manufacture, and more.

A serial entrepreneur, he and his wife, Arlene Harris, have cofounded numerous wireless technology companies. This includes Cellular Business Systems, SOS Wireless Communications, GreatCall, and ArrayComm. Cooper is currently chairman of Dyna LLC and a member of the FCC’s Technological Advisory Council. He was the first to observe the Law of Spectrum Capacity, which became known as Cooper’s Law.

He was inducted in 1950 into the HKN Delta Chapter at the Illinois Institute of Technology. He was elevated to HKN Eminent Member in 2013. Also in 2013, Cooper became a member of the National Academy of Engineering from whom he received the Charles Stark Draper Prize for Engineering. He was awarded the Marconi Prize “for being a wireless visionary who reshaped the concept of mobile communication.” He has been inducted into the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame and Wireless History Foundation’s Wireless Hall of Fame. The Radio Club of America awarded him a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010. He is a lifetime member of the IEEE, was president of its Vehicular Technology Society and received its Centennial Medal,and in 2015 he received the IEEE Masaru Ibuka Consumer Electronics Award. In 2007, Time magazine named him one of the “100 Best Inventors in History.” He is a Prince of Asturias Laureate.

Cooper grew up in Chicago, the son of Ukrainian immigrants. He attended Crane Technical High School and the Illinois Institute of Technology, where he is a Life Trustee. He served in the US navy as a submarine officer during the Korean Conflict.

Address:United States

S. K. Ramesh of California State University, Northridge, USA

Biography:

S. K. Ramesh is a renowned engineering educator with over three decades of leadership experience as a dean, department chair, and faculty member in the California State University system. The programs he established serve industry practitioners in high wage, high demand fields, including renewable energy, assistive technology, and advanced manufacturing. As 2016-17 Vice President of Educational Activities, he championed collaboration, diversity, and inclusive excellence, through innovative programs like the IEEE Learning Network (ILN).

Ramesh is an IEEE Fellow recognized for “contributions to entrepreneurship in engineering education”, and founding Director of CSU Northridge’s internationally recognized AIMS2 program that mentors and supports Latino/Latina students and underrepresented minorities in engineering. His many recognitions include the John Guarrera Engineering Educator of the Year, William Johnson International award for leadership and contributions to the profession, and the IEEE Region 6 Community Service award. Ramesh has over 38 years of experience as an IEEE member and volunteer, and served on the Boards of IEEE, ABET, and HKN, leading volunteers and staff with shared strategic goals, measurable outcomes, and transparent fiscal leadership. He covets his service as 2016 IEEE-HKN President and as a long-term IEEE Student Branch Counselor (16 years) among his favorite volunteer roles.