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Andrew J. Viterbi and Barry Boehm to Receive 2010 IEEE Medals

Honors from "the world’s largest professional association advancing innovation and technological excellence for the benefit of humanity"
Eric Mankin
December 02, 2009 —

IEEE, the 370,000-member professional society dedicated to the advancement of electrical and computer sciences, engineering and related technical disciplines, has tapped for recognition the USC Presidential chair, trustee and alumnus who is the namesake of the Viterbi School of Engineering, along with the founder and co-director of the USC Center for Software and Systems Engineering.

On June 26, 2010, gold medals signifying the achievements of Andrew J. Viterbi and Barry Boehm will be presented in a ceremony in Montréal, Quebec, as part of IEEE’s annual Honors Ceremony.

Viterbi is the recipient of the Institute’s highest award, the 2010 IEEE Medal of Honor, which recognizes an exceptional contribution or an extraordinary career in the IEEE fields of interest.

"IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional association, announced that IEEE Life Fellow Andrew J. Viterbi, co-founder of Qualcomm Incorporated and developer of wireless technologies that became the international standard for third-generation cellular phones, has been named the 2010 IEEE Medal of Honor recipient," says the association's statement.

Andrew J. Viterbi

"The award of the IEEE Medal of Honor to Andrew Viterbi is yet another affirmation of his unparalleled achievements in communication theory, business and practice," said Yannis C. Yortsos, dean of the USC school of engineering the medal winner named and supports.  "He has helped connect the world as never before and make better the life of humankind. We cannot be more proud." 

Viterbi received the National Medal of Science in 2007. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a recipient of the IEEE Shannon Award, as well as Marconi and Alexander Graham Bell awards, three of the top honors in communication technology. In 2008, he was named a Millennium Laureate.

Barry Boehm is the 2010 IEEE Simon Ramo Medal winner. The honor was established by the IEEE Board of Directors in 1982 for exceptional achievement in systems engineering and systems science. Boehm’s award was “for leadership in and innovative solutions to the integration of systems engineering and software engineering.”

Boehm, USC's TRW Professor of Software Engineering, is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the primary societies in computing (ACM), aerospace (AIAA), electronics (IEEE) and systems engineering (INCOSE). He founded USC’s Center for Software and Systems Engineering in 1993, expanding it subsequently to incorporate the systems analysis work of Eberhardt Rechtin.

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Barry Boehm

CSSE methods now enjoy international influence. Boehm shares appointments in the USC Epstein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and the Department of Computer Science.

Dr. Boehm plans to contribute his full honorarium to the research of his Viterbi School Ph.D. students, whose grants are often depleted before their work is done.
 
"The Computer Science Department has benefitted greatly from his leadership as research director of our Software Engineering Program," commented CS chair Shang-Hua Teng. "His contributions are directly responsible for its ranking amongst the top in the nation. Barry is a pioneer and a visionary in software engineering and an exceptional educator."
 
"The award recognizes Barry's preeminent stature in the field of systems and software engineering," added Yortsos. "We are very proud of his accomplishments."

The Ramo Medal is named in honor of the distinguished engineering contributions of Dr. Simon Ramo, former Vice Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Executive Committee of TRW, Inc. Ramo and his wife, Virginia ’37, were founding co-chairs of the Board of Overseers of the Keck School of Medicine of USC as well as co-recipients of the 2002 USC Presidential Medallion. Ramo also holds a Presidential chair at USC.

USC Provost and Executive Vice President C.L. Max Nikias won the Ramo Medal in 2008.

IEEE was established in 1963 with the merger of the Institute of Radio Engineers and the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. Its large membership base spans more than 160 countries.

From the IEEE website:  "IEEE is the world’s largest professional association advancing innovation and technological excellence for the benefit of humanity.  IEEE and its members inspire a global community to innovate for a better tomorrow through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities. IEEE is the trusted 'voice' for engineering, computing and technology information around the globe."