engineering

Irwin M. Jacobs

Irwin M. Jacobs is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Irwin M. Jacobs rather than just read about it. In short: Irwin Mark Jacobs (born October 18, 1933) is an American electrical engineer and businessman. He is a co-founder and former chairman of Qualcomm, and chair of the board of trustees of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

Key takeaways

Irwin M. Jacobs belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Irwin M. Jacobs to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Irwin M. Jacobs from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Irwin Mark Jacobs (born October 18, 1933) is an American electrical engineer and businessman. He is a co-founder and former chairman of Qualcomm, and chair of the board of trustees of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. As of 2019, Jacobs had an estimated net worth of $1.2 billion.

Early life and education Jacobs was born to a Jewish family in New Bedford, Massachusetts. He earned his Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Cornell University in 1956, and his Master of Science and Doctor of Science degrees in electrical engineering and computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1957 and 1959, respectively. His doctoral advisor was Edward Arthurs. He is a member of Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity.

Career

Jacobs was assistant and associate professor of electrical engineering at MIT from 1959 to 1966 and professor of computer science and engineering at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) from 1966 to 1972. With John Wozencraft, he co-authored a textbook entitled Principles of Communication Engineering in 1965, which is still in use today. UCSD's Jacobs School of Engineering is named for him and his wife. In 1968, Jacobs co-founded Linkabit Corporation with Andrew Viterbi to develop satellite encryption devices. That company merged with M/A-COM, Inc. in 1980, becoming M/A-COM Linkabit. In 1985, Jacobs went on to co-found Qualcomm Inc. along with Viterbi, Harvey White, Adelia Coffman, Andrew Cohen, Klein Gilhousen, and Franklin Antonio. Qualcomm developed the OmniTRACS system that was deemed one of the world's most "technologically advanced two-way mobile satellite communications and tracking systems". He pioneered these systems which use the communication bandwidth more efficiently than the older fixed time-sliced TDMA technology. Its Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA) has been adopted as one of two digital standards (the other being Global System for Mobile Communications [GSM]) used in the next generation of cellular telephones in North America at the time. Jacobs announced in March 2009 that he had stepped down as chairman of Qualcomm and that Paul E. Jacobs, his son, would succeed him.

Affiliations Jacobs was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering in 1982 for contributions to communication theory and practice, and leadership in high-technology product development. He is also a Fellow of the IEEE. He is a member of the Inter-American Dialogue. He is a chairman on the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, and is on the international advisory board for the Israel Institute of Technology. He is also on the advisory board for the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University in Beijing, and on the board of directors of the Pacific Council on International Policy in Los Angeles.

Awards and honors

In 1980, Jacobs was the co-recipient, with Andrew J. Viterbi, the 1980 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) biannual award. In 1992, Jacobs was awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year Award in High Technology by the Institute of American Entrepreneurs, and in May 1993, he was awarded the American Electronics Association (AEA) "Inventing America's Future" award. In 1994, for his development of CDMA, Jacobs was awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. In 1994, he was also awarded the "Cornell University Entrepreneur of the Year" Award. In 1995, Jacobs won the IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal – For outstanding contributions to telecommunications, including leadership, theory, practice, and product development. In 2000, Jacobs was inducted into the Wireless Hall of Fame for his role in the cellular industry. In 2001, Jacobs was awarded the Bower Award for Business Leadership in 2001.

In 2004, Jacobs and his wife Joan Jacobs are contributors to public arts and education in San Diego. For this, Jacobs was awarded the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship in 2004. In 2005, Jacobs delivered the 2005 commencement speech at MIT, and the 2008 commencement speech at the Jacobs School of Engineering. In 2007, Jacobs and Viterbi received the 2007 IEEE/RSE Wolfson James Clerk Maxwell Award, for "fundamental contributions, innovation, and leadership that enabled the growth of wireless telecommunications". In 2009, he was named a Fellow of AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science). In 2011, he received the Marconi Prize together with Jack Wolf. In 2011, he was named a Marconi Prize recipient and Marconi Fellow. In 2011, Jacobs was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum. In 2012, Jacobs was named the W. P. Carey School of Business Dean's Council of 100 Executive of the Year. In 2013, Jacobs was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. In 2013, he received the Medal of Honor from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), which is the highest honor an engineer can receive from his or her peers. The IEEE said he was receiving the award not just for his innovations but for "the ability to translate innovation into industry applications, time after time after time." In November 2013, he was conferred the title of "Distinguished Honor Chair Professor" of National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan. In 2013, he was elected to the American Philosophical Society. In August and October 2014, Jacobs was awarded honorary doctorates by National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, and Hong Kong Polytechnic University. In 2014, Jacobs was elected to the Computer History Museum as a Fellow – for "his pioneering work in digital mobile telephony, data and communications, and technology". In 2015, Jacobs received the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy. In 2017, Jacobs received an honorary Doctor of Engineering and Technology degree from Yale University. In 2017, Jacobs and Viterbi received the IEEE Milestone Award for their CDMA and spread spectrum development that drives the mobile industry. In February 2018, he was appointed an honorary advisor to the president of National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan. In March 2018, he was named the winner of IMEC Lifetime of Innovation Award. In July 2019, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of York, UK. In October 2019, he received the IET Mountbatten Medal in London.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Irwin M. Jacobs

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Irwin M. Jacobs claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Irwin M. Jacobs before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Irwin M. Jacobs ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Irwin M. Jacobs

In research: Irwin M. Jacobs appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Irwin M. Jacobs in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Irwin M. Jacobs is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1933 births, 21st-century American Jews, 21st-century American philanthropists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Irwin M. Jacobs outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Irwin M. Jacobs in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Irwin M. Jacobs means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Irwin M. Jacobs out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Irwin M. Jacobs in simple terms?

Why does Irwin M. Jacobs matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Irwin M. Jacobs?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Irwin M. Jacobs.