The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has announced the recipients of its 2008 Engineering Achievement Awards. Thomas B. Silliman, president of Electronics Research Incorporated (ERI), and retired ABC senior advisor of science and technology Antoon (Tony) Uyttendaele will be honored on Wednesday, April 16, during the NAB Show in Las Vegas. The awards will be presented during the NAB Show Technology Luncheon.
During his tenure at ABC, Tony Uyttendaele played a pivotal role in the evolution of HDTV, working with both broadcast and consumer equipment manufacturers to create 720p hardware, a video format used in the production and transmission process of HDTV. Uyttendaele's efforts contributed to the final adoption of 720p by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). He also developed and managed the completion of ABC's C-band satellite network distribution system and for a number of years served as international chairman of the ITU-Radiocommunication Sector Working Party on Satellite Newsgathering (SNG), which developed numerous recommendations on uniform standards and operating procedures to make SNG practical worldwide.
Thomas Silliman is well-known for his accomplishments in the field of antenna engineering. In the 1970s, he developed a design for the Rototiller, a circularly polarized FM broadcast antenna that became a popular choice for FM stations in the United States. Since then, Silliman has been a consistent innovator in antenna engineering in the broadcast industry, eventually leading Electronics Research in the development of an antenna system that accommodates both analog and digital transmissions. As president of ERI, he has helped transform the company into one of the world's top suppliers of radio and TV transmission components.
National Public Radio (NPR) science correspondent and award-winning TV journalist Ira Flatow will present the keynote at the luncheon with a presentation titled "Funny, You Don’t Look Like Your Avatar: New Media Conquers Old Problems." Currently, Flatow serves as president of Talking Science, a non-profit company dedicated to creating radio, TV and Internet projects that make science user-friendly.
View his keynote speech at the NAB Technology Luncheon.
For more information, visit http://www.nabshow.com/2008/conferences/sessiondetail.asp?id=1207542
View Antoon (Tony) Uyttendaele at 2008 NAB, winner of the Engineering Achievement Award.