April 09, 2008 — Andrew J. Viterbi, legendary pioneer in the field of digital communications and namesake of the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering, has been named one of four finalists for the 2008 Millennium Technology Prize for his invention of an algorithm that led to the introduction and widespread use of cell phones.

Viterbi’s nomination, which puts him in competition for the world’s largest technology prize, was announced April 8 by the Finnish Academy.  The winner will be announced at a ceremony in Finland on June 11, 2008.

Andrew J. Viterbi

The communications entrepreneur, who is president of Viterbi Group LLC and holds the Presidential Chair in Engineering at the University of Southern California, was cited by the Technology Academy Finland for his fundamental contributions to communications technology and for creating “the Viterbi Algorithm, the key building element in modern wireless and digital communications systems, touching the lives of people everywhere.”

“Andrew Viterbi’s inventiveness has always been a powerful catalyst in the life of our school, but we are tremendously proud at this moment to hear of his nomination,” said Viterbi School Dean Yannis C. Yortsos.  “I cannot think of a more appropriate way to honor his creative genius in wireless communications and the impact his work has made on society than to have him among the laureates for an award of this magnitude.”  

As a researcher and professor of electrical engineering, Viterbi worked in information theory and is best known for the algorithm published in the late 1960s that bears his name. It allows rapid and accurate decoding of a multitude of overlapping signals in a digital stream.

Today the algorithm is embedded in hundreds of millions of cell phones worldwide. Viterbi also pioneered techniques to allow dense populations of cell phones transmitting Viterbi algorithm-coded signals to avoid interfering with each other.

Viterbi and his colleagues developed one such system: Code Division Multiple Access or CDMA, the technology standard for most cell phones in North America. The Viterbi Algorithm is used in most international cell phone systems.

“He is a true pioneer,” said USC Provost C. L. Max Nikias. “The cell phone technology he created touches millions of lives every day.”

Viterbi Algorithm applications extend beyond cell phones to voice recognition programs, digital satellite communications and even DNA analysis. For these and other scientific achievements, Viterbi has been honored by membership in the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

He is a recipient of the Shannon, Marconi and Alexander Graham Bell awards, three of the top honors in communication technology, as well as other awards from the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and from foundations in Europe. In 2001, he was awarded the "Grande Ufficiale della Republica" by the President of Italy.

Early in his career, Viterbi held academic appointments at UCLA and then UC San Diego. He later was a co-founder of Linkabit, a telecommunications consulting company, in 1967, and a co-founder of cell phone giant Qualcomm in 1985.

Viterbi is a member of the USC Board of Trustees, the Viterbi School's Board of Councilors and holds the Presidential Chair of Engineering in the USC Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering. He is also on the board of the Burnham Institute and the Scripps Cancer Center in La Jolla; a trustee of the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute in Berkeley; and a member of the UC President's Council for the National Laboratories.

He and his wife established the Andrew and Erna Viterbi Chair in Communications at USC in 1998.  Appropriately, the chair’s first holder, Professor Solomon Golomb, is an expert in digital and space communications.
       
Hailed by his peers as a digital genius, Viterbi continues to shape the industry as president of the Viterbi Group, LLC. Headquartered in La Jolla, CA, the company advises and invests in early stage companies, predominantly in wireless communications, network infrastructure and imaging.

The Millennium Technology Prize is awarded every second year for “a technological innovation that significantly improves the quality of human life, today and in the future.”  The prize consists of 1.15 million euros and a crystal-tipped trophy, grown from silicon, which is the foundation of modern electronics. The winner is selected by the Technology Academy Finland, an independent foundation established by Finnish industry in partnership with the Finnish state.