Motorola legend Martin Cooper, the leader of our team that developed the first mobile phone, has been named a recipient of the National Academy of Engineerings’ (NAE) Charles Stark Draper Prize, which is their highest honor. Mr. Cooper and a small group of other highly regarded engineers, were recognized in Washington DC for their groundbreaking research in cellular phone technology. This research led to the current era of mobile communications and mobile computing.
Iqbal Arshad, SVP, Global Product Development, Motorola Mobility had this to say:
Here’s the backstory on Marty Cooper and his mark on mobile history:
On April 3, 1973, Cooper cemented his place in history by becoming the first person to successfully make a handheld cellphone call in public. At the time, Cooper was general manager of Motorola’s Communications Systems Division and leader of a team of engineers that had been working on mobile communication technologies. Standing on Sixth Avenue in New York City, before going into a press conference, Cooper famously placed this groundbreaking call using a Motorola DynaTAC – a device that weighed 2.2 lbs., had 35 minutes of talk-time and a battery life of 20 minutes, all of which was revolutionary at the time.
Widely regarded as the Nobel Prize for engineering, the Charles Stark Draper Prize was established and endowed by Draper Laboratory in 1988 to honor its founder, Dr. Charles Stark Draper, who pioneered inertial navigation. The award recognizes those who have contributed to the advancement of engineering and aims to help improve public awareness of the importance of engineering and technology.
by Motorola via The Official Motorola Blog - Motorola Mobility, Inc. USA
Iqbal Arshad, SVP, Global Product Development, Motorola Mobility had this to say:
Long before we messaged people in real-time, had instant maps for anywhere, or streamed movies on our smartphones, Martin Cooper and his team laid the foundations of mobile phone technology. When we look at everything that’s been accomplished thanks to the hard work of Martin and his team, we can’t think of anyone more deserving of this honor.
Here’s the backstory on Marty Cooper and his mark on mobile history:
On April 3, 1973, Cooper cemented his place in history by becoming the first person to successfully make a handheld cellphone call in public. At the time, Cooper was general manager of Motorola’s Communications Systems Division and leader of a team of engineers that had been working on mobile communication technologies. Standing on Sixth Avenue in New York City, before going into a press conference, Cooper famously placed this groundbreaking call using a Motorola DynaTAC – a device that weighed 2.2 lbs., had 35 minutes of talk-time and a battery life of 20 minutes, all of which was revolutionary at the time.
Widely regarded as the Nobel Prize for engineering, the Charles Stark Draper Prize was established and endowed by Draper Laboratory in 1988 to honor its founder, Dr. Charles Stark Draper, who pioneered inertial navigation. The award recognizes those who have contributed to the advancement of engineering and aims to help improve public awareness of the importance of engineering and technology.
by Motorola via The Official Motorola Blog - Motorola Mobility, Inc. USA
Martin Cooper receives Draper Award
![Martin Cooper receives Draper Award]()
Reviewed by Ossama Hashim
on
February 21, 2013
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In recent months, I have seen several accounts in
ReplyDeletethe press discussing Martin Cooper's role in the development of the cell phone.
I worked for Martin at Motorola Communications and Industrial Electronics
(C&IE) from November 1959 to June 1960. Motorola was developing the latest
in a series of two way radio products of ever smaller size. These developments
were part of an evolutionary process that led eventually to the cell phone. I
was fresh out of school and my contributions were of no particular significance.
But let me tell you about something I observed on a
daily basis at Motorola's plant in Chicago. Motorola C&IE had two black
employees. They tended an incinerator on the opposite side of the parking lot
from the plant. They were not allowed into the building. Not to take a break or
eat lunch. Not to use the rest rooms. Not to warm up in the middle of Chicago's
sub zero winters. And my fellow employees would take their breaks at the second
floor windows overlooking that parking lot, and they would make insulting,
racist comments about the two black employees.
I went to human relations, and in the most
non-confrontational way that I could muster I asked why Motorola did not employ
on the basis of ability, without regard to race. And at my six month review, I
was terminated.
You don't have to take my word concerning Motorola's
employment policies. In September of 1980, Motorola agreed to pay up to $10
million in back pay to some 11,000 blacks who were denied jobs over a seven-year
period and to institute a $5 million affirmative action program, according to
the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
I have a question for Martin Cooper. Marty, what did you
ever do to challenge the blatant, toxic racial discrimination at
Motorola?
Robert Gilchrist Huenemann, M.S.E.E.
120 Harbern Way
Hollister, CA 95023-9708