QUALCOMM CEO and Wife Make Major Gift to Technion-Israel Institute of Technology
NEW YORK, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Irwin Jacobs, chairman and CEO of QUALCOMM Incorporated, and his wife, Joan, have made a major commitment to the communications center at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. The Irwin and Joan Jacobs Center for Communication and Information Technologies
(CCIT) -- a project of the New York Metropolitan Region -- will significantly
expand the interdisciplinary center's contributions to the rapid growth of
communication technology worldwide.
In announcing the commitment, Dr. Jacobs, a member of the American
Technion Society Board of Regents and San Diego Chapter, said, "The world is
in the midst of an explosive expansion in the use of information technology.
Joan and I wish to ensure that Israel continues its leading contributions
through its premier center for research and education.
"We expect the Center to play an important role in improving quality of
life worldwide by accelerating the revolution of information technology use,"
he added. "We are pleased to be associated with CCIT to further its current
level of success through hard work, dedication and a broad vision for the
future."
The CCIT conducts research in a variety of technologies including laser,
digital, wireless and fiber optics communication. The Jacobs' commitment will
allow the center to further its plans for physical expansion, complete its
staffing with some 40 faculty members including leading scientists from around
the world, and expand into new areas of research. In addition, the center
will grow its active Industrial Liaison Group which includes such companies as
QUALCOMM, Motorola, ECI and Samsung.
Dr. Jacobs was instrumental in establishing a QUALCOMM research center in
Israel near Haifa in 1994 to take advantage of Technion talent. QUALCOMM
engineers pioneered the commercial use of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA)
technology for wireless digital voice and data, and increased Internet
communications. The contributions in Israel have included support for
Globalstar, which QUALCOMM co-founded with Loral, to enable anytime/anywhere
communication via a network of low earth orbiting (LEO) satellites.
As a founder of San Diego-based QUALCOMM, Dr. Jacobs has led the company
to its current prominence as a global leader in developing and delivering
innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on
QUALCOMM's CDMA digital technology. QUALCOMM is a 1999 Fortune 500 company
with more than 9,500 employees worldwide.
Dr. Jacobs is the recipient of numerous honors and awards including: the
National Medal of Technology, bestowed by the President of the United States;
the Medal of Achievement from the American Electronics Association; Cornell
University Entrepreneur of the Year; and the 1999 Computerworld Smithsonian
Leadership Award for Global Integration.
Dr. and Mrs. Jacobs have a long standing commitment to the Technion. Dr.
Jacobs received the Albert Einstein Award, the American Technion Society's
highest honor, in 1996.
The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa is the country's
premier scientific and technological center for applied research and
education. It commands a worldwide reputation for its pioneering work in
communications, electronics, computer science, biotechnology, water-resource
management, materials engineering, aerospace and medicine, among others. The
majority of Israel's engineers are Technion graduates, as are most of the
founders and managers of its high-tech industries.
The American Technion Society (ATS) supports the Technion. Based in New
York City, it is the leading American organization supporting higher education
in Israel. The ATS has raised $726 million since its inception in 1940, half
of that during the last eight years. Technion societies are located in
24 countries around the world. |
