SHPE - Conference 2007 - (Page 40)

H I S PA N I C H E R I TA G E Communication Reaching New Heights in Mobile Communications More than 300 million users, not to mention the likes of carriers Verizon and Sprint, are benefiting from the pioneering work done by Alejandro Holcman. The vice president of engineering for QUALCOMM was part of a team in the early 1990’s that helped design a new system of transmitting voice signals over wireless networks. The Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system is a protocol that allows telephones to talk to base stations. The newer digital technology succeeded the older technology of analog signals. Holcman was also part of the team that developed the transitional system from analog to digital before the switch to digital. As part of the team to develop the CDMA system, he was QUALCOMM’s representative to the international standards body that worked to make manufacturers’ equipment compatible with the network. With Holcman as the lead system engineer, QUALCOMM was one of the first companies to develop a satellite system for portable phones. The handhelds talk directly to the satellite, thereby enabling global reach. Now users can communicate without being encumbered by heavy satellite equipment. According to Holcman, the impact of the development is tremendous. The portable phone lowered the cost of the communication devices. “It also brought communication to areas of the world that were impossible to communicate,” he explained. Holcman, who has a B.S.E.E.C.S. degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago and an M.S. degree in telecommunications from the Australian Telecommunications Research Institute in Australia, said, “I have always been fascinated by aviation and space travel. This sparked my interest in wireless and satellite communications.” The author of 14 patents, with six patents pending, he serves on the Engineering Advisory Board of the University of San Diego. Holcman said of his work, “I would have never imagined the cellular technology we were working on 15 years ago would be used by so many millions of people worldwide.” The ubiquity of the technology he helped develop is also a source of pride for Holcman. 40 “During a trip home to Argentina, my wife and I were traveling through the Andes Mountains and stopped at a farm/coffeehouse in the middle of nowhere,” he recounted. “Globalstar was being used for the area’s communications like a pay phone. It was a great feeling to see how far-reaching our technology was. The fact that it was being used in my home country made it even more special.” As the engineering lead for QUALCOMM’s Engineering Services Group, he is currently working on bringing third-generation (3G) technology to the telecommunications industry, which will allow consumers to get live television, high speed Internet, location services and other features on their cellular phones. At QUALCOMM, Alejandro Holcman led systems engineering development for a vast cell phone communication network, which includes antennas, phone towers and satellites. Courtesy of QUALCOMM 1300 - 1500 A.D. Great Communicators The Aztecs were one of the most advanced civilizations of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries. From government, architecture and engineering to the arts and farming, they developed sophisticated systems. Through the Aztecs’ language, Nahuatl, they established an oral tradition that was heavily relied upon for transmitting and maintaining knowledge and information. Aztec writing consisted of drawings of small pictures, some embodying ideas, others representing sounds. The Aztec pictographic system was used mainly to record business information, censuses, historical and religious writings and tax lists. The standardization and convention of their pictorial histories were recognizable across and outside of the Aztecs’ ethnic and linguistic boundaries, allowing them to transmit information widely. The Aztec’s Codex Borbonicus illustrates a standardized method of communication which allowed them to transmit information widely. Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt, AUSTRIA SHPE R Conference 2007 Courtesy of QUALCOMM Courtesy of QUALCOMM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of SHPE - Conference 2007

SHPE - Conference 2007 Contents President’s Letter From the Vice President Calendar Browser The Top 10 Interview Questions A Federal Case for Education Reform Managing in the Multi-Generational Work Force Ahead of Their Times: An Engineering Progression The Place to Innovate Management Growth Training Executive LeaderSHPE Institute Programs & Services Welcome Letters Highlights Conference Schedule STAR Awards Company of the Year Professional Adelante and Student Chapter Awards Speakers Professional Development Strategy SHPE Academic Olympiad AHETEMS Design Competition Morgan Stanley Web Coding Competition The Ultimate SHPE Challenge Technical Paper Competition Pre-College Symposia Graduate Program Tours Hospitality Suites Advisors Workshop Quick Guide Workshop Descriptions Sponsors and Career Fair Exhibitors Hotel and Convention Center Maps IPC Update Regional Roundup Advertisers Index Inner Circle Employer Profiles

SHPE - Conference 2007

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.