12/18/99 - Irwin M. Jacobs, Qualcomm -- Former university prof blossoms in heat of business challenges
Dec. 17, 1999 (Electronic Buyers News - CMP via COMTEX) -- It was the early 1950s when Irwin Jacobs' high school adviser told him
there was "no future" in science and engineering. So young Jacobs set off for Cornell to major in hotel administration.
Today, however, you won't find Jacobs wandering the halls of a Holiday Inn. Instead, he sits atop the powerhouse he co-founded in
1985, Qualcomm Inc. The San Diego company has parlayed its digital wireless CDMA technology, products, and services into fiscal
1999 revenue of $3.9 billion on pro forma net income of $525 million, and Qualcomm has catapulted to No. 16 on Fortune's list of the
100 fastest-growing U.S. companies.
Jacobs' scientific bent was already evident during World War II, when the pre-teen made electrical equipment with the metal wires used
to fasten the tops of glass milk bottles. At the same time, his entrepreneurial side was taking shape. Jacobs bought war-surplus film
and chemicals and sold to classmates the photos he took of them.
At Cornell, Jacobs gave up hotels for electrical engineering, which led to teaching posts at MIT from 1959-65 and the University of
California at San Diego from 1966-72.
But Jacobs, whom associates characterize as "strongly competitive," decided in 1969 while at UCSD to create a
satellite-communications equipment company, Linkabit, which many credit with giving birth to San Diego's influential wireless-telecom
industry.
Martha Dennis, president and CEO of San Diego software company Wave Ware, has known Jacobs for 30 years and can attest to his
competitive, tenacious character.
"While at Linkabit, we had to get a demo together for the Army, and we worked on it for four days and three nights straight," she said.
"Most of us slept a little during that period, but not Irwin. He was determined to finish and literally didn't sleep a wink. When faced with
a challenge, his juices really start to flow."
Jacobs in 1980 sold Linkabit to M/A-Com, and Qualcomm was formed five years later. There, he was faced with the challenge of
bringing the company and its CDMA technology to the digital wireless forefront. Mission accomplished.
But while Jacobs' entrepreneurial side is now in full bloom, he hasn't turned his back on his academic roots.
He has generously funded wireless-communications programs at Cornell, MIT, and UCSD. The latter's School of Engineering, which
received a $15 million contribution from Jacobs, is now named after him and his wife Joan, who is a major participant and contributor to
San Diego's cultural community.
Jacobs' dedication to education also extends to the support of a charter school in San Diego called High-Tech High, which, he
stresses, is not only for students with high grades, but for those who show a deep love of science. Perhaps like the kid who built
electrical equipment with the wire from milk bottles.
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Irwin M. Jacobs, Qualcomm
Chairman, Chief Executive
Qualcomm Inc.
San Diego, Calif.
Age: 66
Previous job: Chairman, president, chief executive of Linkabit Corp.
First job: Same as above
Education: B.S. in electrical engineering, Cornell University; M.S. and Sc.D. in electrical engineering, MIT
Hobbies/Interests: Jogging, working with local schools and other community institutions
Books currently reading: The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory, by Brian
Greene
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By: Barry Greenberg
Copyright 1999 CMP Media Inc.
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