CELEBRATING FIFTY-FIVE YEARS OF PATH-BREAKING RESEARCH 

CMDE AROGYASWAMI J PAULRAJ (RETD) PROF EMERITUS STANFORD UNIVERSITY

It was at IIT Madras, that a large gathering of scientists, academics, entrepreneurs, and naval officers both serving and retired met to celebrate the 80th birthday of Paulraj on 13 Sep 24. The programme was imaginatively weaved together to do justice to the man who has risen to be a colossus; without exaggeration. Why, some may ask. Here is why : 

                                                                                                 

• The Prince Philip Medal of the Royal Academy of Engineering, presented by HRH The Princess Royal, London, 11 June 2024

• IET Faraday Medal 2024

• Inducted into the Wireless History Foundation Hall of Fame in 2022

• Member American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) in 2020

• Inducted into the US Patent Trademark Office National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2018

• Foreign Member Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences

• Foreign Member Chinese Academy of Engineering (2016)

• The Padma Bhushan award by the Indian Government in 2010.

• JEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal in 2011.

• Marconi Prize and Fellowship in 2014.1

• Foreign Fellow Indian Academy of Sciences

• Foreign Fellow Indian National Science Academy

• Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering

• Overseas Fellow National Academy of Sciences, India.

• Member United States National Academy of Engineering, elected in 2006.

• Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

• Technical Achievement Award from the lEEE Signal Processing Society in 2003. 

Since IIT Madras has benefitted from Paul's mentorship for over five decades it was a timely recognition of his contribution. This occasion was preceded by a similar celebration at Stanford, on Paul's achievements in inventing  MIMO, the core technology for mobile (4G  5G) and WiFi wireless networks for which he was awarded the Marconi Prize.

What then were the people in white uniforms doing at IIT Madras?

My association with Paul started in 1978 when he took up the challenge to produce a state-of-the-art sonar for submarine detection. Under his stewardship, a DRDO Lab at Kochi produced a wire wrap model followed by a development model made at BEL Bengaluru in record time. It was fitted on a frontline Indian-built frigate and put to stringent trials for over a year. The success of this model has been unmatched for decades. That it was delivered under the adverse Geo-political backdrop of the 1970s and the acute shortage of resources of all variants, made this success a memorable one.

Paul is a well-known celebrity today as can be seen from his achievements enumerated above. He has his feet firmly planted on the ground. He remains in touch with those of us who have worked with him. 

The forenoon session on 13 Sep 24 was dedicated to the sonar that he delivered to the ships of our navy. Some of us were invited to narrate our stories. Similarly, the afternoon session was dedicated to telecommunications with an emphasis on MIMO. All in all, IIT Madras did us proud by underlining the oft-repeated cliche, " It is the people that matter...."

Some glimpses of the event to honour Paul.