The Future of Telecommunications: A Qualcomm/Caltech/JPL Perspective

Presented By: Division of Engineering and Applied Science

Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Qualcomm Incorporated, and Dr. Charles Elachi, Director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Caltech Vice President, and Professor of Electrical Engineering and Applied Science, will share their vision for the future of telecommunications.

Dr. Jacobs has been a leader in the field of mobile communications for nearly two decades and a key architect of Qualcomm's strategic vision. He joined Qualcomm as a full-time employee in 1990. He became CEO in July 2005 and was appointed Chairman in 2009, and his responsibilities include leadership and oversight of all the company's intiatives and operations. Dr. Jacobs chairs the World Economic Forum's Future of Mobile Communications council and serves on the advisory boards of the University of California, Berkeley, College of Engineering; and the University of California, San Diego, Jacobs School of Engineering. Dr. Jacobs received his bachelor's (1984) and master's (1986) degrees, as well as his doctorate (1989) in electrical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

Qualcomm was born in July 1985, when seven industry veterans, including Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) employees, came together in the den of Dr. Irwin Jacobs' San Diego home to discuss an idea. Those visionaries decided they wanted to build "Quality Communications" and outlined a plan that has evolved into one of the telecommunications industry's greatest start-up success stories: Qualcomm Incorporated. Qualcomm believes that research and development is the key to harnessing the power of imagination.

Dr. Elachi joined JPL in 1970. He was Director for Space and Earth Science Programs from 1982 to 2000, where he was responsible for the development of numerous flight missions and instruments for Earth observation, planetary exploration, and astrophysics. He was appointed the Director of JPL in May 2001. Dr. Elachi is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, was selected as one of America's Best Leaders by U.S. News and World Report and the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, and has an asteroid (4116 Elachi) named in recognition of his contributions to planetary exploration. Among other degrees, Dr. Elachi holds a master's (1969) and doctorate (1971) in electrical engineering from Caltech.

Following the presentations, Babak Hassibi, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Executive Officer for Electrical Engineering, and Associate Director of Information Science and Technology at Caltech, will lead the group discussion.