IEEE Awards Booklet - 2009 - 14

I E E E

T E C H N I C A L

F I E L D

AWA R D S

2009 IEEE
James L. Flanagan Speech and
Audio Processing Award

2009 IEEE
Andrew S. Grove Award

Sponsored by IEEE Signal Processing Society

Sponsored by IEEE Electron Devices Society

John Makhoul

Eric R. Fossum

For pioneering contributions to speech modeling

For significant contributions to the invention, development
and commercialization of CMOS image sensors

John Makhoul, chief scientist at BBN Technologies, Cambridge,
Mass, has made a number of significant contributions to the
mathematical modeling of speech signals. Prominent among
these contributions are his papers on linear prediction, which
models the evolution of a signal over time, and vector quantization, which allows for the efficient coding of signals and
parameters. Dr. Makhoul is recognized in the field for his vital
role in the areas of speech and language processing, including
speech analysis, speech coding, speech recognition and speech
understanding. His patented work on the direct application of
speech recognition techniques for accurate, language-independent optical character recognition (OCR) has had a dramatic
impact on the ability to create OCR systems in multiple
languages relatively quickly. He has been leading research and
development in speech systems and more recently in applying
existing and new technology to the area of language translation. An IEEE Life Fellow, Dr. Makhoul has received several
awards from IEEE.

Eric R. Fossum's development of the active pixel image sensor based
on CMOS technology has had a profound effect on digital photography, enabling and improving applications such as Web cams, cell
phone cameras, high-end digital cameras, high-speed machine/
medical vision systems, and automotive cameras. As an alternative to
the charge-coupled device (CCD) sensor, Dr. Fossum's CMOS activepixel sensor took advantage of shrinking design rules and adapted
successful CCD signal processing techniques to put an amplifier on
each pixel of the image sensor to yield a high-quality image. Other
advantages include better speed, reduced size and less power consumption, which made it favorable for consumer devices. He
co-founded Photobit Corporation in 1995 to accelerate the technology's commercial use, and in 2001 the company was acquired by
Micron Technology, one of the world's largest suppliers of image
sensors for mobile applications. An IEEE Fellow, Fossum holds
119 U.S. patents and is currently a consultant for the Samsung
Electronics Semiconductor Research and Development Center,
where he leads a team of researchers in advanced imaging sensors.

2009 IEEE
Herman Halperin Electric Transmission
and Distribution Award

2009 IEEE Masaru Ibuka Consumer
Electronics Award

Sponsored by Robert and Ruth Halperin
Foundation, in memory of Herman and Edna
Halperin, and IEEE Power & Energy Society

Sponsored by Sony Corporation

Carson W. Taylor

Eugene J. Polley

For contributions to enhance the voltage stability,
dynamic performance and reliability of large
interconnected electric power systems

For contributions to the technology of the wireless
remote control for television and other consumer
electronics products

An international expert in power system stability, Carson W. Taylor has
made pivotal advancements in the area of power system performance
and reliability. While with the Bonneville Power Administration, Taylor
led many projects that improved system reliability and dynamics in the
Western North American power system. He is perhaps best known for
the development and on-line demonstration in 2002-2005 of the
Wide-Area voltage and stability Control System (WACS). WACS incorporates real-time sensors distributed throughout the power grid with
global-positioning-satellite technology for high-speed automatic control
of power-grid conditions to quickly stabilize problems before they can
affect the rest of the grid. Mr. Taylor is a distinguished member of CIGRE,
one of the leading worldwide organizations on electric power systems,
covering their technical, economic, environmental, organizational and
regulatory aspects. He is an IEEE Life Fellow, a member of the U.S.
National Academy of Engineering and has authored Power System
Voltage Stability, which was the first book written on the subject.

Eugene J. Polley's work in wireless remote technology led to
possibly the greatest convenience feature ever invented-the
wireless remote control for television. Mr. Polley ushered in the era
of "channel surfing" with the invention of the "Flash-Matic"
wireless remote in 1955, introduced by Zenith Radio Corporation
(now Zenith Electronics LLC, a subsidiary of LG Electronics). The
device operated via photo cells placed in each corner of the television screen, and the viewer used a highly directional flashlight to
turn the picture and sound on or off or to change the channel in a
clockwise or counterclockwise direction. His concepts were the
foundation of wireless remote technologies that followed. Today,
virtually all consumer electronics products-from plasma screens
to HDTVs, from DVD players to digital recorders-feature remotecontrol capability. Eugene Polley and fellow remote-control
pioneer Robert Adler were recognized for their contributions by
the National Academy of Television Arts with an Emmy® Award in
1997. Currently a retired engineer, Polley holds 18 patents.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Awards Booklet - 2009