MORE THAN 600 TO GRADUATE IIT IN MAY 15 CEREMONIES

Martin Cooper, the man considered the father of the cellular telephone, will deliver the commencement address at Illinois Institute of Technology’s (IIT’s) 131st Commencement. Ceremonies will take place Saturday, May 15, 2004, at the Arie Crown Theatre at McCormick Place Lakeside Center, 2301 S. Lake Shore Dr. The program begins at 11 a.m. 625 undergraduate and graduate students are expected to receive diplomas.

Cooper, who received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from IIT in electrical engineering, will receive the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, for his path-breaking leadership in the development of the first cellular portable telephone in 1973. He is also honored for his leadership in the development of the first practical high-capacity paging terminals and radio pagers, as well as many other cellular, mobile, portable and paging products.

These inventions, developed over Cooper’s 29-year career with Motorola, Inc., have led to a transformation of the way people work, play and communicate around the world. Cooper also was personally involved with the Federal Communications Commission in developing the trunked mobile radio approach leading to Specialized Mobile Radio Service, as well as the regulatory activities and hearings that created the modern cellular telephone industry.

Cooper is the founder and Chairman of ArrayComm, Inc., a California-based company dedicated to the creation of more efficient and effective cellular transmissions. He serves on the boards of several other public and private companies. He was co-founder of Cellular Business Systems, Inc., which before its purchase by Cincinnati Bell in 1986 had 70 percent of the cellular industry as its customers.

In addition to being an alumnus, Cooper serves on the IIT Board of Trustees. He is a fellow of the IEEE and the Radio Club of America and a recipient of the IEEE Centennial Medal. He has also won the Wharton School Business Transformation Technology Award and the Radio Club of America Fred Link Award. He holds nine patents and has served as a Distinguished Lecturer and Advisory Board Member for the International Engineering Consortium.

Founded in 1890, IIT is a Ph.D.-granting technological university awarding degrees in the sciences, mathematics and engineering, as well as architecture, psychology, design, business and law. IIT’s interprofessional, technology-focused curriculum prepares the university’s 6,200 students for leadership roles in an increasingly complex and culturally diverse global workplace.