Thomas Kailath (born June 7, 1935) is an electrical engineer,

information theorist Information theory is the scientific study of the quantification, storage, and communication of information. The field was originally established by the works of Harry Nyquist and Ralph Hartley, in the 1920s, and Claude Shannon in the 1940s. ...

control engineer Control engineering or control systems engineering is an engineering discipline that deals with control systems, applying control theory to design equipment and systems with desired behaviors in control environments. The discipline of controls o ...

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

and the Hitachi America Professor of Engineering, Emeritus, at Stanford University. Professor Kailath has authored several books, including the well-known book ''Linear Systems'', which ranks as one of the most referenced books in the field of

linear system In systems theory, a linear system is a mathematical model of a system based on the use of a linear operator. Linear systems typically exhibit features and properties that are much simpler than the nonlinear case. As a mathematical abstractio ...

s. Kailath was elected as a member into the US

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

in 1984 for outstanding contributions in prediction, filtering, and signal processing, and for leadership in engineering. In 2012, Kailath was awarded the

National Medal of Science The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social scienc ...

, presented by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

in 2014 for "transformative contributions to the fields of information and system science, for distinctive and sustained mentoring of young scholars, and for translation of scientific ideas into entrepreneurial ventures that have had a significant impact on industry." Kailath is listed as an ISI highly cited researcher and is generally recognized as one of the preeminent figures of twentieth-century electrical engineering.

Biography

Kailath was born in 1935 in

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, ( the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million As of 2021, Pune Metropolitan Region is the largest i ...

, Maharashtra,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, to a

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

-speaking Syrian Christian family named Chittoor.Kulthe, Bhagyashree (dec 19th 2009) "2 Institutions bring Kailath to Pune", in DNA: Daily News & Analysis newspaper http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1924660891.html His parents hailed from

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. He studied at St. Vincent's High School, Pune and received his engineering

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from the Government College of Engineering, the

University of Pune Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), formerly the University of Poona, is a collegiate public state university located in the city of Pune, India. It was established in 1949, and is spread over a campus in the neighbourhood of Ganeshk ...

in 1956. He received his

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in 1959 and his

doctorate degree A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

in 1961, both from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

(MIT). He was the first

n-born student to receive a doctorate in electrical engineering from MIT. Kailath is Hitachi America Professor of Engineering, Emeritus, at Stanford University. Here he has supervised about 80 Ph.D. theses. Kailath's research work has encompassed linear systems,

estimation Estimation (or estimating) is the process of finding an estimate or approximation, which is a value that is usable for some purpose even if input data may be incomplete, uncertain, or unstable. The value is nonetheless usable because it is de ...

and

control theory Control theory is a field of mathematics that deals with the control of dynamical systems in engineered processes and machines. The objective is to develop a model or algorithm governing the application of system inputs to drive the system to a ...

signal processing Signal processing is an electrical engineering subfield that focuses on analyzing, modifying and synthesizing ''signals'', such as sound, images, and scientific measurements. Signal processing techniques are used to optimize transmissions, ...

, information theory and

semiconductor device fabrication Semiconductor device fabrication is the process used to manufacture semiconductor devices, typically integrated circuit (IC) chips such as modern computer processors, microcontrollers, and memory chips such as NAND flash and DRAM that are p ...

. Kailath has been an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Fellow since 1970. He is also a member of the US

(NAE), the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS),

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

(AAAS), the Indian National Academy of Engineering and the Silicon Valley Engineering Hall of Fame. Kailath was awarded the 2007 IEEE Medal of Honor for "exceptional development of powerful

algorithms In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specifications for performing ...

in the fields of communications, computing, control and signal processing", the 2006 IEEE Jack S. Kilby Signal Processing Medal, and the 1996 IEEE Donald G. Fink Prize Paper Award (together with Ali H. Sayed). In 2017, the Marconi Society honored Kailath with its Lifetime Achievement Award for "his many transformative contributions to information and system science and his sustained mentoring and development of new generations of scientists." He was awarded the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

award in 2009 by the Government of India for his contribution to Science and Engineering. He has been awarded with the 2009

BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards () are an international award programme recognizing significant contributions in the areas of scientific research and cultural creation. The categories that make up the Frontiers of Knowledge Awards ...

in Information and Communication Technology for break the miniaturization barrier of chips. Kailath received praise from Dr. Patrick Dewilde, the Director of Delft Institute of Microelectronics and Submicron Technology at

Delft University Delft University of Technology ( nl, Technische Universiteit Delft), also known as TU Delft, is the oldest and largest Dutch public technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. As of 2022 it is ranked by QS World University Rankings among ...

in the Netherlands. He was married to Sarah Kailath from 1962 until her death in 2008, with whom he had four children: Ann (wife of MIT professor George Verghese), Paul, Priya and Ryan. In 2013, Kailath married Dr. Anuradha Luther Maitra, retired economics professor, Trustee and former President of the UC Santa Cruz Foundation Board, and former CEO of Floreat, Inc. Kailath is also the brother-in-law of journalist T. J. S. George, who is also a recipient of the

. Kailath has co founded several high technology companies, including Integrated Systems (founded in 1980 and merged with WindRiver Systems in 1999), Numerical Technologies (founded in 1995 and acquired by

Synopsys Synopsys is an American electronic design automation (EDA) company that focuses on silicon design and verification, silicon intellectual property and software security and quality. Products include tools for logic synthesis and physical de ...

), and Excess Bandwidth Corporation (founded in 1998 and acquired by Virata Corporation in 2000, which itself merged with Globespan in 2001 and now

Conexant Conexant Systems, Inc. was an American-based software developer and fabless semiconductor company that developed technology for voice and audio processing, imaging and modems. The company began as a division of Rockwell International, before ...

). He was selected by President

for the

along with other prominent scientists for "invaluable contributions to their fields and help ngimprove countless lives." He was elected to the 2018 class of

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

s of the

American Mathematical Society The American Mathematical Society (AMS) is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, and serves the national and international community through its publications, meetings, ...

Publications

* 1979, ''Linear Systems (Prentice-Hall Information and System Science Series)'' (1979, Prentice Hall, ) * 1987, ''Indefinite-Quadratic Estimation and Control: A Unified Approach to H² and H^$\infty$ Theories (Studies in Applied and Numerical Mathematics)'' with Ali H. Sayed &

Babak Hassibi Babak Hassibi ( fa, بابک حسیبی, born in Tehran, Iran) is an Iranian-American electrical engineer, computer scientist, and applied mathematician who is the inaugural Mose and Lillian S. Bohn Professor of Electrical Engineering and Compu ...

(1987, Society for Industrial & Applied Mathematics, ) * 1997, ''Discrete Neural Computation: A Theoretical Foundation'' with Kai-Yeung Siu & Vwani Roychowdhury (1997, Prentice Hall, ) * 2000, ''Linear Estimation'' with Ali H. Sayed &

(2000, Prentice Hall, )

References

External links

Kailath' Stanford websiteIEEE Spectrum articleIndolink piece on Dr. Kailath, mentions malayalam script on his house
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kailath, Thomas American computer scientists Control theorists 1935 births Living people Fellows of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Fellows of the American Mathematical Society Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Fellow Members of the IEEE IEEE Medal of Honor recipients Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in science & engineering Foreign Members of the Royal Society Foreign Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy Stanford University School of Engineering faculty MIT School of Engineering alumni Savitribai Phule Pune University alumni American people of Malayali descent Indian emigrants to the United States 20th-century American engineers 21st-century American engineers American academics of Indian descent 20th-century Indian engineers 21st-century Indian engineers Scientists from Pune Engineers from Maharashtra Detection and estimation theorists