UBC Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Vijay K. Bhargava has been awarded the 2015 Killam Prize for his achievements in the field of wireless communications.
Bhargava’s work has had a profound impact in the field of wireless communications. Practical applications of his research include wireless networks that support 3D multimedia, gaming, device-to-device communications, e-health and social networks. His current research interests are in the areas of fifth-generation (5G) wireless communications and cognitive spectrum access, expected to be the norm for future wireless networks.
“Today’s wireless networks span the globe and bring us closer together than ever before,” says Bhargava. “My students and I have been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to make several important contributions in this area. Indeed, many of the codes and algorithms that we have developed can be found in many of the wireless devices and products in use today.”
Applied Science Dean Marc Parlange remarks, “It is a real delight for all of us at UBC to celebrate this very well-deserved recognition of Vijay Bhargava’s superb life-long contributions to wireless communication research and Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science.”
Bhargava is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Engineering, the Engineering Institute of Canada and Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). Numerous major awards include the Canadian Award for Telecommunications Research, the Foundations Award of the Advance Computing and Communications Society and the A.G.L McNaughton Gold Medal.
Each year, the Canada Council for the Arts selects a world leader in the humanities, engineering, natural sciences, social sciences, health sciences and interdisciplinary studies within these fields to receive the $100,000 Killam Prize in recognition of their career accomplishments. The Canada Council Killam Program was established by Dorothy J. Killam to advance the research of Canadian scholars and universities. The 2015 Killam Prize presentation ceremony will be held at Rideau Hall, Ottawa, on May 12.