Roberto Padovani

Dr. Roberto Padovani "is executive vice president and chief technology officer for Qualcomm Incorporated. In this role, he is responsible for the oversight of Qualcomm's overall research and development efforts.

"Dr. Padovani joined Qualcomm Incorporated in 1986, after two years at M/A-COM Linkabit where he was involved in the design and development of satellite communications systems, secure video systems and error-correcting coding equipment.

"Over the past 20 years at QUAlCOMM, Dr. Padovani has been involved in the research and development of digital communication systems with particular emphasis on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA ) wireless technology systems. He was involved in the initial design, development and standardization of IS-95 CDMA systems.  His research and inventions in this field have led to the worldwide standardization and commercialization of CDMA technology for second- and third-generation cellular systems. More recently, he has led the design and development of CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, an IP-based, high-speed wide-area wireless data technology, which has led to the deployment of multiple broadband wireless networks and services across the globe.

"Dr. Padovani holds more than 60 patents on wireless systems. He has published numerous technical papers in the digital communications field and was the co-recipient of the 1991 IEEE Vehicular Technology Society Best Paper Award for a fundamental paper on the capacity of CDMA cellular systems.

"In addition, Dr. Padovani has received the Innovators in Telecommunications, 2004 award from the San Diego Telecom Council; election to the National Academy of Engineering, 2006; and the Executive of the Year, 2006 from the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California, San Diego.

"Dr. Padovani received a laureate degree from the University of Padova, Italy and master of science and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, all in electrical and computer engineering. He is an IEEE Fellow and an Adjunct Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of California, San Diego."