Logo: University of Southern California

Viterbi School Celebrates Its Namesake's 75th Birthday

Andrew Viterbi hailed with unveiling of his likeness in Tutor Hall.

March 07, 2010 —

Andrew Viterbi, Erna Viterbi, C. L. Max Nikias, Yannis Yortsos. (To view a video of the ceremony, click on the image.)

Faculty, staff, students and the USC Trojan Marching Band gathered in Tutor Hall on February 25th, 2010 to celebrate the 75th birthday of the Viterbi School’s namesake, Andrew Viterbi.

USC Provost C. L. Max Nikias, Dean Yannis Yortsos and about 200 others were on hand for the unveiling of a large circular plaque bearing a sculpted image of Viterbi on the ground floor of Tutor Hall.

"This hall is the most-traveled corridor in the engineering school," said Nikias.

Viterbi, who received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from USC in 1962, is the co-founder of Qualcomm. The Viterbi School celebrated  Viterbi's 70th birthday with the dedication of the Viterbi Museum, also located in Tutor Hall.

Viterbi and his wife Erna named the engineering school with a $52 million gift in 2004.