Prof. Diggavi’s Ph.D. student, Jad Hachem, receives the Roberto Padovani Scholarship from Qualcomm

Jad Hachem, a Ph.D. student in the Information Theory and Systems Laboratory, working with Prof. Suhas Diggavi, has received the Roberto Padovani Scholarship for his work during his summer internship at Qualcomm Research, New Jersey.  Hachem’s research this summer was in the area of wireless positioning, which is an important problem to solve, especially with unreliable GPS signals. Hachem really enjoyed his internship, where he learned from and interacted with industry experts in wireless systems.

The Roberto Padovani Scholarship program was created in 2008 to recognize Qualcomm Research interns who demonstrate extraordinary technical talent during their summer internships. It is a global program that includes nominees from Qualcomm Research offices across the globe.

Candidates are nominated by their mentors or managers based on their technical contributions and overall impact to the organization. Approximately seven scholarships are provided each year.

Recipients of the Padovani Scholarship receive a $5,000 academic scholarship to be used towards school expenses. In addition, recipients who come back to Qualcomm Research as an intern or as a full-time employee immediately upon graduation are eligible to receive a return bonus.

The scholarship is named after Dr. Roberto Padovani, who is currently an Executive Vice President and Fellow at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. Dr. Padovani served as the Qualcomm’s Chief Technology Officer from 2002 to 2011.  He holds numerous patents on wireless systems and has published numerous technical papers in the digital communications field and was the co-recipient of the 1991 IEEE Vehicular Technology Society Best Paper Award.  He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2006, and he is an IEEE Fellow and an Adjunct Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of California, San Diego.