Viterbi donates $52 million to USC

By Michael Stetz

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Andrew J. Viterbi, co-founder of Qualcomm, is giving the University of Southern California a $52 million gift, and that institution's school of engineering will now bear his name.

In the telecommunications world, few names are better known or admired. It was Viterbi who helped develop the technology that made cell phones possible.

Viterbi, a La Jolla resident, earned his doctorate in electrical engineering from USC in 1962. The money comes from both Viterbi and his wife of 45 years, Erna.

"We're passionate about education," Viterbi said. "Education is what this nation needs to stay ahead of the curve."

The gift will be formally announced Tuesday.

Viterbi, 68, retired from Qualcomm in 2000. At that time, his stock holdings were reported to be worth $1 billion.

Viterbi's work is no easy thing for the average person to comprehend. For instance, according to a news release announcing the gift, Viterbi is well-known for publishing an algorithm – one that today bears his name – that "allows rapid and accurate decoding of a plethora of overlapping signals."

Here's the best way to appreciate his work. Call a loved one with your cell phone. It works wonders because of Viterbi's pioneering concepts.

He and his associates came up with what is called CDMA, or Code Division Multiple Access, the wireless technology in use in the majority of cell phones in North America.

His life story is one that is truly American.

When he was 4, his family fled Italy just days before World War II broke out. Viterbi picked up English when he began going to kindergarten.

The family later settled in Boston, and Viterbi began his academic career at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In a story published in the Union-Tribune at the time of his retirement from Qualcomm, he said he had aspired to be the world's greatest engineer since he was 10.

Viterbi and Irwin Jacobs, arguably the better-known co-founder of Qualcomm because he serves as the corporation's front man, joined minds in 1970, starting a defense communications company called Linkabit. They joined forces, along with several others, to create Qualcomm in 1985.

That company is now a Fortune 500 corporation and is considered one of the leaders in telecommunications innovation. Qualcomm is one of the largest employers in San Diego County, with an estimated 5,000 workers.

Both Jacobs and Viterbi give back, particularly to academic institutions they hold dear.

Jacobs, who serves as chairman and CEO of Qualcomm, donated $110 million to the UCSD School of Engineering last year – UCSD's largest gift ever. The engineering school had earlier been named in his honor. Jacobs was a professor of computer science and electrical engineering at UCSD from 1966 to 1972.

Viterbi has strong ties to USC, serving as a trustee and a member of the Dean's Council. He said he felt the need to give to that university rather than, say, UCSD because it's a private school and such institutions are facing greater needs.

"It was there for me when I needed it," he said.

Viterbi has given to San Diego institutions as well. For instance, he donated $2 million to KPBS, allowing it to complete its digital television studio.

Among donations to educational institutions, a $600 million gift to the California Institute of Technology is the largest on record. Gordon Moore, a graduate who later co-founded Intel Corp., was the donor.

USC's engineering school has nearly 2,000 undergraduate students and more than 3,300 graduate students.

The Los Angeles-based school is excited, to say the least.

"To have our school bear the name of the creator of the Viterbi Algorithm and co-founder of Qualcomm Corp. will be a source of tremendous pride for our faculty, students and alumni," said C.L. Max Nikias, dean of the engineering school. "His is one of the most brilliant careers in engineering history – and he is a USC alumnus, one of our own."

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Michael Stetz: (619) 542-4570; michael.stetz@uniontrib.com