This award is named in honor of Edwin H. Armstrong, most notably the inventor and father of the complete FM radio system. He is responsible for the Regenerative Circuit, the Superheterodyne Circuit, and the Superregenerative Circuit. Armstrong’s inventions and development form the backbone of Radio Communications as we know it. A contemporary, in writing about Armstrong’s life and achievements, refers to him as the "Man of High Fidelity." His life is documented in a book justly called "Empire of the Air."
This award was first presented in 1958 as the Achievement Award. It was changed to its present title in 1975.
Prize
Certificate, plaque, and an honorarium of US$2,000.
Eligibility
Must be a member of the IEEE Communications Society.
Basis for Judging
Demonstrates outstanding contributions over a period of years in the field of interest of the Society.
Presentation
Annually (as soon as possible after recommendation). The award may not be presented if a suitable candidate is not available.
Deadline
Nominations due 1 September unless otherwise noted.
2023 Award Recipient
Leonard Cimini
For contributions to the theory and practice of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) for Wireless Communications
Leonard J. Cimini, Jr., received the Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1982. He was with AT&T, first in Bell Labs and then AT&T Labs, for 20 years. He has been a Professor with the University of Delaware since 2002. He was elected an IEEE Fellow for contributions to the theory and practice of high-speed wireless communications in 2000 (and a Life Fellow in 2021). Len performed early work detailing the substantial benefits of OFDM for wireless applications, especially in overcoming the high-bit-rate limitations imposed by the channel. The insights gained from this, and his subsequent work, have influenced the work of many researchers, as well as the standardization of WiFi, WiMAX, and LTE. For this pioneering work, he was a recipient of the 2007 James R. Evans Avant Garde Award from the IEEE Vehicular Technology Society, the 2010 Innovators Award from the NJ Inventors Hall of Fame, and the 2024 IEEE Eric E. Sumner Award. He also received several other technical and service awards from the IEEE Communications Society, including career achievement awards from the Wireless Communications (2010) and Communication Theory (2021) Technical Committees.
PAST AWARD RECIPIENTS
2022 - Khaled B. Letaief
2021 - Elza Erkip
2020 - Giuseppe Caire
2019 - Geoffrey Ye Li
2018 - Andreas F. Molisch
2017 - Muriel Medard
2016 - Moe Z. Win
2015 - Theodore S. Rappaport
2014 - Andrea Goldsmith
2013 - John M. Cioffi
2012 - Donald Cox
2011 - No Award
2010 - No Award
2009 - H. Vincent Poor
2008 - Sergio Benedetto
2007 - Norman C. Beaulieu
2006 - Larry J. Greenstein
2005 - No Award
2004 - Hussein Mouftah
2003 - Hikmet Sari
2002 - Michael B. Pursley
2001 - Ezio Biglieri
2000 - Laurence B. Milstein
1999 - Al Gross
1998 - Donald L. Schilling
1997 - Marvin K. Simon
1996 - Joachim Hagenauer
1995 - Adam Lender
1994 - Mischa Schwartz
1993 - Paul Schumate
1992 - Hisashi Kaneko
1991 - Burton R. Saltzberg
1990 - Jack K. Wolf
1989 - Paul E. Green, Jr.
1988 - Jack M. Sipress
1987 - Paul Baran
1986 - Gottfried Ungerboeck
1985 - Robert Charles Terreault
1984 - Bob O. Evans
1983 - No Award
1982 - Tadahiro Sekimoto
1981 - Robert Price
1980 - Frederick T. Andrews
1979 - Arthur A. Collins
1978 - Andre Pinet
1977 - William H.C. Higgins
1976 - Walter B. Morrow
1975 - R.W. Lucky
1974 - Frank D. Reese
1973 - S.G. Lutz, C.E. Shannon
1972 - A.E. Joel, Jr.
1971 - A.C. Dickieson
1970 - R.K. Hellmann
1969 - D.S. Rau
1968 - P.G. Edwards
1967 - J.Z. Millar
1966 - W.T. Rea
1965 - A.G. Kanoian
1964 - No Award
1963 - I.S. Coggeshall
1962 - A.G. Clavier
1961 - E.I. Green
1960 - No Award
1959 - K. Bullington
1958 - H.H. Beverage