Richard H. Frenkiel
Richard H. Frenkiel is an American engineer, known for development of cellular telephone networks.
Born (March 4, 1943) in Brooklyn, New York, Frenkiel earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering at Tufts University and earned a master's degree at Rutgers University in 1965. Beginning in 1963, he worked for Bell Labs where he first designed recorded announcement machines. In late 1965, he was invited to get involved in the early planning of cellular telephone systems along with Bell Labs engineers Joel S. Engel and Philip T. Porter, an effort which lasted more than sixteen years. They worked on cell geometry, vehicle locating, and call handoff. In 1971 Porter, Engel, and Frenkiel authored a cellular system feasibility study and proposal that was submitted to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).[1]
From 1971 to 1973, Frenkiel worked at AT&T Corporate Headquarters, where he became a primary interface with the FCC on Cellular issues. In 1973, he returned to Bell Labs, where he managed a group of mobile phone system engineers. Their focus was on vehicle-locating techniques, maximizing channel efficiency, and methods of splitting cells to include additional towers for high volume areas. [2]
For five years Frenkiel was head of the Mobile Systems Engineering Dept. at Bell Labs during the transition from experimental systems to commercial service. His department developed interface specifications for nationwide compatibility among cellular companies. He also served on the Electronic Industries Alliance Committee which proposed rules for cellular systems that were adopted by the FCC. After the FCC allocated new frequencies in 1968 for mobile phones, Frenkiel's engineering team developed specifications for cellular networks and its parametrization (1971). This was the basis for AMPS.
Frenkiel transferred to the AT&T Information Systems Labs in 1983, where he became head of cordless telephone development. He led the development of the 5000 series of cordless telephones, which achieved a much higher level of quality and performance than previous cordless telephones.
In 1994, Frenkiel was a co-recipient, along with Joel S. Engel, of the National Medal of Technology (for their contributions to the creation of cellular systems). He has also received the Alexander Graham Bell Medal (1987) and the Achievement Award of the Industrial Research Institute (1992). He has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering and is a Fellow of the IEEE.
In 1994 Frenkiel returned to Rutgers University where he became a Visiting Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Director for Strategic Planning at WINLAB at Rutgers.[3] He also works as an industry consultant and writer, and was Mayor of Manalapan, New Jersey in 1999. He currently teaches a course in Wireless Business Strategy at Rutgers University
Contents |
[edit] Publications
- U.S. Patent 4,144,411 -- Cellular Radiotelephone System, filed September 22, 1976, issued March 13, 1979
[edit] See also
[edit] Awards
- IEEE Fellow (life fellow)
- IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal 1987 With Joel S. Engel and William C. Jakes, Jr.
- National Medal of Technology 1994 received from President William Clinton
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Bernard Widrow |
IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal 1987 |
Succeeded by Robert M. Metcalfe |
[edit] References
- ^ "High Capacity Mobile Telephone System Feasibility Studies and System Plan"
- ^ David Hochfelder, Joel Engel, an interview from IEEE History Center (September 30, 1999)
- ^ Rutgers Director for Strategic Planning
[edit] External links
- IEEE Biography of Richard H. Frenkiel
- "Joel S. Engel and Richard H. Frenkiel: Cellular Technology" - MIT Inventor of the Week article
