Andrea Goldsmith, dean of Princeton’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, has received three major honors recognizing her seminal research contributions to wireless communications, and for translating these contributions into widespread practice.
Goldsmith, the Arthur LeGrand Doty Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been awarded the Institute of Electrical and Electronics and Engineers (IEEE) Mildred Dresselhaus Medal, and was named an international fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences and a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.
These distinctions recognize her innovations that have helped shape today’s mobile technology and laid ground rules for cellular and Wi-Fi network performance. Her foundational approaches to increasing the capacity, speed, reliability, and range of wireless systems have become instrumental to maximize the performance of modern wireless networks under highly dynamic conditions.
The IEEE Mildred Dresselhaus Medal is awarded each year to an individual for leadership and outstanding technical contributions that have greatly impacted society. The award was established by IEEE in 2019 and is named after Mildred Dresselhaus, the first woman to receive the IEEE Medal of Honor.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences supports innovation and exchange between business, research and government in Sweden and internationally, aiming to build bridges between these sectors for the betterment of society. Founded in 1919, it is the world’s oldest academy of engineering sciences.
The National Academy of Inventors fellows program was established to highlight academic inventors who have demonstrated “a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society,” according to the organization. In addition to Goldsmith, Eren Kurshan, executive-in-residence in Princeton’s Office of Technology Licensing, was named a fellow of the academy.
In addition to her leadership in the field of wireless communications, Goldsmith has been widely recognized for her efforts to increase diversity and inclusion in both academia and industry. She founded the IEEE Board of Directors committee to advance diversity in engineering, and to promote an inclusive and equitable culture for all who contribute to the field. She also established awards at IEEE and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) to recognize accomplishments of early-career women.
As a former member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, Goldsmith has advised the federal government on science, technology and innovation policy. She holds 38 U.S. patents and founded the companies Quantenna and Plume Wi-Fi, formerly Accelera. She has written four globally adopted textbooks.
Goldsmith is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Royal Academy of Engineering (U.K.) and is an IEEE Fellow. She also is a member of the National Inventors Hall of Fame and the Wireless Hall of Fame. She is the first woman to receive the Marconi Prize, considered the top honor in telecommunication, and is the recipient of the IEEE Education Medal, ACM’s SIGMOBILE Outstanding Contributions Award, and the 2018 Athena Lecture Award.
Goldsmith earned her bachelor’s degree in engineering math and her master’s and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering, all at the University of California-Berkeley. She joined the faculty of Stanford University in 1999 and was named Stanford’s Stephen Harris Professor of Engineering in 2012. She joined the Princeton faculty in 2020.
