Julian J. Bussgang

Biography

Julian Jakub Bussgang, Life Fellow of IEEE (Fellow, 1973), was born in Lwow, Poland, in March 1925. He holds six patents, published many technical papers, founded Signatron, Inc., and is well-known for the Bussgang Theorem (widely used in adaptive equalization)

In September 1939, he and his family escaped from Poland, fleeing to Romania and later immigrating to Palestine. During World War II, he graduated from the Polish refugee high school in Tel Aviv and then joined the Free Polish Forces (The Polish 2nd Corp) in the Middle East (1943). He graduated from the Artillery Officers' School and fought in the Italian Campaign, including the Battle of Monte Cassino. After the war, he studied mathematics and engineering in Italy and Great Britain, arriving in the United States in 1949. He received the following academic degrees: B.Sc. from the University of London (1949), MSEE from MIT (1951), and PhD (Applied Physics) from Harvard (1955).

Bussgang worked at MIT Lincoln Laboratory (1951-1955) and at RCA Aerospace Division (1955-1962) where he first served as Manager of Radar Development and later as Manager of Applied Research. Leaving RCA in 1962, he founded Signatron, Inc., an electronics company, and served as its president (1962-1985). Signatron, Inc. became a leading developer of high date rate troposcatter (over the horizon) modems and HF modems and radio channel simulators. In 1984, he merged his company with Sundstrand Corporation and served as a consultant, retiring in 1987. He holds six patents and has published many technical papers.

His contributions include work on the Apollo program; benchmark papers on Pulse Doppler Radar, sequential detection of signals in noise, HF communications, non-linear signal analysis, digital phase-shift communications; and a chapter in How to Start your own Business (MIT Technology Press, 1974). In regard to the Apollo program, Bussgang was a consultant to Grumman Aircraft in the selection, simulation and evaluation of Rendezvous Radar and Landing Radar for LEM (Lunar Module) for man's first trip to the moon.

During his career, he also served as a consultant to many major companies such as COMSAT, GTW, Grumman Aircraft, Honeywell, Hughes Aircraft, Philco-Ford, IBM, the Mitre Corporation, United Aircraft, the RAND Corporation, Arthur D. Little, Raytheon Company, RCA, and Sperry Univac.

Bussgang was visiting lecturer at Harvard (1964-1965), lecturer at Northeastern University (1962-1965), member of the U.S. Commission C of URSI, and associate editor for Communications of the magazine Radio Science. He is listed in Who's Who in America and American Men of Science.

Bussgang served on the IEEE Life Members Committee, on the Board of Governors of PGIT, and as a reviewer for various IEEE Transactions. He was chair of the Boston Section of IEEE; chair of the Boston Section's Fellows and Awards Committee (1989-1993), Education Chair (1989-1993) and a member of the Publications Committee and the Audit Committee as well as the Boston Section representative to the Central New England Council of IEEE (1995-2007). In addition, he was the nominator for the Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) Milestone and was twice elected to three-year terms on the Board of Governors of the IEEE Information Theory Society. He also served on the organizing committee of the East Coast electronic trade show ELECTRO.

He received the Regional Professional Leadership Award (USAB Region 1, 1955); the Third Millennium Medal (2000); and the Boston Section Distinguished Service Award (2005).

In 2011, Bussgang was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the R