Arun N. Netravali (born 26 May 1945 in Mumbai, India) is an Indian-American computer engineer credited with contributions in digital technology including HDTV. He conducted research in digital compression, signal processing and other fields. Netravali was the ninth President of Bell Laboratories and has served as Lucent's Chief Technology Officer and Chief Network Architect. He received his undergraduate degree from

IIT Bombay The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay or IITB) is a public research university and technical institute in Powai, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is considered as one of the best engineering universities in India and is top ranked ...

, India, and an M.S. and a Ph.D. from Rice University in

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, all in electrical engineering. Several global universities, including the Ecole Polytechnique Federale in Lausanne, Switzerland, have honored him with honorary doctorates. Netravali led Bell Labs research and development of high definition television (HDTV) and is widely acknowledged as a pioneer in the development of digital video technology. He is the author of over 170 technical papers, 70 patents, and three books in the areas of picture processing, digital television, and computer networks. Netravali is a member of Tau Beta Phi and Sigma Xi. He is also an IEEE fellow. He has received awards including the Marconi Prize, the Padma Bhushan Award from the Indian government, the National Medal of Technology from President George W. Bush, the Computers & Communications Prize, the Alexander Graham Bell Medal, the IEEE Kilby Medal, the IEEE Frederik Philips Award, and the National Association of Software and Services Companies in India Medal. Prior to joining Bell Labs, Netravali was an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, however the genera ...

at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While at Bell Labs, he taught at City College of New York, Columbia University, and Rutgers University. He was a resident of

Westfield, NJ Westfield is a town in Union County, New Jersey, United States, located southwest of Manhattan. As of the 2010 United States census, the town's population was 30,316,IEEE Jack S. Kilby Signal Processing Medal The IEEE Jack S. Kilby Signal Processing Medal is presented "for outstanding achievements in signal processing" theory, technology or commerce. The recipients of this award will receive a gold medal, together with a replica in bronze, a certificat ...

in 2001 (together with

Thomas S. Huang Thomas Shi-Tao Huang (, June 26, 1936 – April 25, 2020) was a Chinese-born American computer scientist, electrical engineer, and writer. He was a researcher and professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). H ...

) * the

IEEE Frederik Philips Award The IEEE Frederik Philips Award is a Technical Field Award that was established by the IEEE in 1971. The award is presented for outstanding accomplishments in the management of research and development resulting in effective innovation in the el ...

in 2001 * the U.S. National Medal of Technology * the Padma Bhushan from the Government of India * the IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal in 1991 (together with

C. Chapin Cutler Cassius Chapin Cutler (December 16, 1914 – December 1, 2002) was an American electrical engineer at Bell Labs. His notable achievements include the invention of the corrugated waveguide and differential pulse-code modulation (DPCM). Biogr ...

and

John O. Limb John O. Limb is an Australian engineer, known for fundamental contributions to the development of digital video communications and holder of a series of patents related to computer communications. Early life and education Born in Western Austral ...

) * elected to member of the National Academy of Engineering in 1989 * elected to IEEE Fellow in 1985 * the

IEEE Donald G. Fink Prize Paper Award The IEEE Donald G. Fink Prize Paper Award was established in 1979 by the board of directors of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in honor of Donald G. Fink. He was a past president of the Institute of Radio Engineers ...

in 1982 (together with

)

Selected writing

* Arun N. Netravali and Barry G. Haskell, ''Digital Pictures: Representation, Compression and Standards (Applications of Communications Theory)'', Springer (second edition, 1995),

References

External links

Laureate profile at The Spirit of American Innovation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Netravali, Arun Columbia University faculty American people of Indian descent Rice University alumni Living people Indian emigrants to the United States National Medal of Technology recipients Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in science & engineering 1946 births IIT Bombay alumni Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering American chief technology officers Businesspeople from Mumbai Fellow Members of the IEEE Bell Labs