Indian American innovations pioneer, Arogyaswami Paulraj, got inducted into the American National Inventors Hall Of Fame for inventing the Multiple Input Multiple Out (MIMO) Wireless Technology! Dr. Paulraj’s MIMO Wireless Technology has been so forward, it has revolutionalized broadband and its ease of usability for billions of people all over the country. For India, to have an inventor recognised on a global scale is a monumental achievement as it propels India into the forefront of modern wireless technology!
MIMO, or to put it in simple words, Multiple Input Multiple Output, improves not just the transmission data rates but also helps in expanding the network coverage. MIMO has been crucial for setting the foundation for all current and future WIFI and 4G networks for broadband wireless communication.
Born in Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, in 1944, Dr. Paulraj joined the Indian Navy at the age of 15. Impressed by his academic records and his zeal for achievement, the Indian Navy sent him to study at the Indian Institute of Technology (Delhi) where he earned a Ph.D for advances to signal filtering theory.
From then on, the esteemed doctor has gone above and beyond in ensuring that his work with wireless technology extends in creating a technology friendly today and a technology forward tomorrow. He holds 79 patents and has won several global distinctions. These include both the two top global honors for telecom pioneers – the 2011 IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal and 2014 Marconi Prize and Fellowship. Paulraj’s recognition in India includes the highly coveted Padma Bhushan in 2010.
The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) was founded in the year 1791 and since then, it has issued around 8.8 million patents! However, as of today, only 561 inventors have been inducted into the American National Inventors Hall Of Fame, including people like Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, The Wright Brothers and Apple Co Founder, Steve Jobs.
Dr. Paulraj joins 8 other inventors in the field of wireless technology. This list includes noteworthy inventors like Guglielmo Marconi (radio technology,) Oliver Lodge (Wireless Telegraph,) Reginald Fessenden (AM radio,) Edwin Armstrong (FM Radio,) Amos Joel (Cellular tech.,) Andrew Viterbi and Irwin Jacobs (CDMA – 3G), Jan Haartsen (Bluetooth). US patent holding wireless pioneers include another Indian inventor, Dr. Jagdish Chandra Bose, known for his brilliant breakthrough work in radio and microwave optics in 1904.
