At 36,000 feet, Wifi converts our airline seats to remote offices. It lets us read email in airports, watch video in coffee shops and listen to music at home. Wifi is everywhere. But where did it come from?
Wi-Fi pioneer Dr. Alex Hills takes us back to when the Internet was first gaining popularity, email took 10 minutes to load up and cell phones were big and unwieldy. But he had a vision: people carrying small handheld devices that were always connected. His unwavering purpose was to change the way we use the Internet.
Dr. Hills tells a story of how innovation happens, weaving together personal adventures with lucid descriptions of physical phenomena, to show just how far we’ve come in the world of wireless connectivity.
About Dr. Alex Hills
Dr. Hills and his team built the world’s first big Wifi network. It was an unheard of idea when Hills started the project in 1993. The new network, called “Wireless Andrew,” was the prototype used by many others to build Wi-Fi networks now used around the world. Dr. Hills is a Distinguished Service Professor of Engineering and Public Policy, and Electrical and Computer Engineering, at Carnegie Mellon University. He also recently authored the book, “Wi-Fi and the Bad Boys of Radio: Dawn of a Wireless Technology.” Read more about Dr. Alex Hills at www.dralexhills.com.
Here is a quick video interview with Dr. Hills.
Dr. Alex Hills will speak: Wednesday, Oct. 12, 5–7 p.m. UAA/APU Consortium Library, Room 307
Dr. Hills was recently a guest on APRN’s statewide call-in program Talk of Alaska. More details here.
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