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In yet another recognition to India-born talents getting global accolades for their works in the field of technology, Himanshu Asnani, a doctoral candidate at Stanford University Electrical Engineering School, has been selected to receive the 2014 Marconi Society Paul Baran Young Scholar Award.
Instituted by the Marconi Society, the award recognises individuals who have, at an early age, demonstrated exceptional scientific and entrepreneurial capabilities with the potential to create significant advances in telecommunications and the Internet.
"Each year, we review nominations of top researchers from around the globe. Even in this elite group, Himanshu's academic and entrepreneurial achievements stand out," said Bob Tkach, chairman of the Society's Young Scholar Selection Committee. "His outstanding work and contributions to point-to-point and multi-terminal channel coding and source coding problems were impressive," he added.
The Marconi Society was established in 1974 through an endowment set up by Gioia Marconi Braga, daughter of Guglielmo Marconi, the Nobel laureate who invented radio (wireless telegraphy). It is best known for its annual $100,000 Marconi Award and Fellowship given to living scientists whose scope of work and influence emulate the principle of "creativity in service to humanity."
Earlier, India-born Stanford University Professor A J Paulraj had won the 2014 Marconi Prize, for his pioneering contributions to developing the theory and applications of MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) antennas. Both, Prof, Paulraj and Asnani would receive the awards in Washington D.C. on October 2, 2014.
Grew up in Kota (Rajasthan), Asnani aspired to be a neurosurgeon following the footsteps of physicians parents. However, his exposure to mathematics and physics at the early age led him to embrace a different direction. After earning all India rank -4 in the IIT JEE Examination, he did his Bachelor in Technology at the at IIT-Mumbai's Electrical Engineering School, in 20009. After that he went to Stanford for his M.S.
Dr. Haim Permuter, a professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Ben Gurion University of the Negev who collaborated with Asnani on several projects, called him "by far the best young researcher in information and communication theory that I have met."
Asnani currently works as a System Engineer at Ericsson's R&D department in the Silicon Valley.
