WATERTOWN, S.D. — Wireless communications pioneer Martin Cooper will be a keynote speaker at the National Association of Tower Erector’s NATE UNITE 2014 Conference. The show will be held in San Diego, Calif., from Feb. 24-27, 2014.
“On the 40th anniversary of the first cell call, we are extremely excited to introduce the maker of that call, Martin Cooper,” said NATE’s Trade Show Committee Chairman Aaron Pitts of P & D Antenna Service, Inc. “Mr. Cooper’s foresight has helped to pump the life blood into our industry. He and four of his colleagues were honored with the Charles Stark Draper Prize by the National Academy of Engineering as co-inventors of the cell phone and their contributions to the first cellular telephone networks, systems and standards.”
“Martin Cooper is a wireless telecommunications trailblazer who will provide a fascinating account of the evolving nature of the industry to NATE UNITE 2014 attendees,” said NATE Executive Director Todd Schlekeway.
Cooper is an inventor, entrepreneur and executive. He conceived the first portable cellular phone in 1973 and is credited with the first cellular telephone call.
Cooper has been referred to as the father of portable cellular telephony and is recognized as an innovator in spectrum management.
Cooper was a submarine officer in the U.S. Navy, a division manager and head of Research & Development for Motorola during a 29-year tenure. As an entrepreneur he has started a number of businesses including co-founding GreatCall, Inc., maker of the Jitterbug phone and service and ArrayComm, the world leader in smart antenna technology.
He was an inaugural member of the WHF Wireless Hall of Fame, and he is a recipient of the IEEE Centennial Medal. In 2010, he was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering and was awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize for Science and Technology. In February 2013 Cooper was co-recipient of the Charles Stark Draper Prize, one of the world’s preeminent awards for engineering achievement. In September 2013, Cooper will receive the Marconi Prize.
