Biography of Theodore S. Rappaport
Posted: Monday November 15, 1999
(Fellow IEEE)
(S’83-M’84-S’85-M’87-SM’90-F’98)
revised 8/99
Theodore S. Rappaport received BSEE, MSEE, and Ph.D. degrees from Purdue University in 1982, 1984, and 1987, respectively. Since 1988, he has been on the Virginia Tech electrical and computer engineering faculty, where he is the James S. Tucker Professor and founding director of the Mobile & Portable Radio Research Group, a university research and teaching center dedicated to the wireless communications field. In 1989, he founded TSR Technologies, Inc., a cellular radio/PCS manufacturing firm that he sold in 1993. He received the Marconi Young Scientist Award in 1990 and an NSF Presidential Faculty Fellowship in 1992. In 1996, he received Honorable Mention for the G. Holmes MacDonald Outstanding Teaching Award, an honor given by Eta Kappa Nu to electrical engineering professors age 35 or younger.
Dr. Rappaport has authored, co-authored and co-edited 14 books in the wireless field, including the popular textbook Wireless Communications: Principles & Practice (Prentice-Hall, 1996), Smart Antennas for Wireless Communications: IS-95 and Third Generation CDMA Applications (Prentice Hall, 1999), and several compendia of papers, including Cellular Radio & Personal Communications: Selected Readings (IEEE Press, 1995), Cellular Radio & Personal Communications: Advanced Selected Readings (IEEE Press, 1996), and Smart Antennas: Selected Readings (IEEE Press, 1998). He has co-authored more than 135 technical journal and conference papers and holds 3 patents. He serves on the editorial board of International Journal of Wireless Information Networks (Plenum Press, NY), is a Fellow of the IEEE, and is active in the IEEE Communications and Vehicular Technology societies. Dr. Rappaport is also chairman of Wireless Valley Communications, Inc., a microcell and in-building design and development firm. He is a registered professional engineer in the state of Virginia and is a Fellow and past member of the board of directors of the Radio Club of America. He has consulted for over 20 multinational corporations and has served the International Telecommunications Union as a consultant for emerging nations.