1. The 2nd Admiral RL Pereira Memorial lecture
was delivered today 10 Jan 15 by Commodore A Paulraj (Retd), VSM, Padma Bhusan,
presently an Emeritus Professor at Stanford University, USA at Rashtrakavi
Kuvempu Kalakshetra Auditorium, Bharat Electronics Ltd. Complex, Jalahalli,
Bengaluru. Admiral RK Dhowan, PVSM, AVSM, YSM, ADC Chief of the Naval Staff
presided over the function and delivered the keynote address.
2. In his lecture titled ‘Accelearting
Technology Change and National Security’, Professor Paulraj
highlighted the existing asymmetry in the rate of advance of military versus
civil technology and how the military needed to keep pace with the rapidly
accelerating technology in the areas of biology, robotics, information,
nanotechnology and energy. He reiterated that technology would be the key to
military preparedness for India in the coming years, especially in the current
security environment, which was rapidly degrading due to rise in asymmetric
threats.
Background
3. Navy Foundation (NF) is an organization
of retired naval officers with the Chief of the Naval Staff as its President.
The 15 branches of NF pan India, apart from networking the veterans’ community
to harness their efforts towards nation building, also undertake a lot of
philanthropic work and conduct activities to generate awareness on maritime
issues. Towards this, the Navy Foundation Bengaluru Chapter conducts an annual
lecture by eminent speakers in memory of late Admiral RL Pereira who had
settled down in Bengaluru after his retirement and worked tirelessly for the
cause of Ex-servicemen before he passed away on 14 Oct 1993.
4. Admiral RL Pereira, the 7th Indian Chief
of the Naval Staff (28 Feb 1979 to 28 Feb 1982) is widely admired and much
loved for his uncompromising integrity, courage and support for technological
self-reliance. Admiral Pereira is one of the architects of the modern Indian
Navy. As commandant of the National Defence College, and Deputy Commandant of
the National Defence Academy, he not only earned the lasting love and
admiration of naval personnel, but also left an everlasting impression on an
incredible number of Army and Air Force personnel and continues to be a leader
of iconic status for them.
About Professor Paul Raj
5. Professor Paulraj, an alumnus of the
National Defence Academy, Khadakvasla, was commissioned into the Indian Navy in
1965 and rose to the rank of Commodore before seeking premature retirement in
1990. In his illustrious career spanning two and half decades, he had many
significant achievements. He is the architect of the indigenously designed
SONAR APSOH, founder of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics at
DRDO and the Central Research Laboratories, Bharat Electronics. He also
co-founded the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, Department of
Electronics.
6. Post retirement, he devoted himself to
Academics and Research. He joined the faculty at Stanford University, USA as
an Emeritus Professor, in 1993. He has to his credit the world’s two top honours
for pioneers in telecommunications technology viz. the IEEE Alexander Graham
Bell Medal in 2011 and the prestigious Marconi Prize and Fellowship for 2014,
which is considered equivalent to the Nobel Prize in the field of Information
Technology. Dr Paulraj is known as the father of MIMO (Multiple Input,
Multiple Output); the idea of using multiple antennas at both the transmitting
and receiving stations that is at the heart of high speed WiFi and 4G mobile
systems – and has revolutionized high speed wireless delivery of multimedia
service for billions of people across the globe. Professor Paulraj is an
elected fellow of seven scientific academics including the US National Academy
of Engineering and the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Science. He was
awarded Padma Bhushan in 2010.
DKS 2/2015