Property:Proposed Milestone Abstract
From IEEE Milestones Wiki
200-250 word abstract describing the significance of the technical achievement being proposed, the person(s) involved, historical context, humanitarian and social impact, as well as any possible controversies the advocate might need to review.
This is a property of type Text.
O
"The 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics honors “groundbreaking inventions in the field of laser physics” on opposite ends of the time and intensity scale."
"Arthur Ashkin of the United States invented “optical tweezers,” which use low-power laser beams to manipulate tiny objects such as living cells."
"Working at Bell Labs in 1970, Ashkin first showed that the pressure of lasers emitting tightly focused, stable beams of light could move small particles. The following year, he showed that an upwards pointing laser beam could provide enough of a push on a small particle to offset the force of gravity. But that levitation found only limited use because other forces such as Brownian motion in water can easily push such a small particle out of the laser beam’s path. In 1986, Ashkin and a Bell Labs team including Steven Chu developed optical tweezers. Their invention featured a short-focus lens that created a strong gradient in the laser beam capable of trapping particles from tens of nanometers to tens of micrometers, even in water. That technique was soon used to demonstrate feats including laser cooling of atoms, for which Steven Chu shared the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics." [Ref 1] 2018 Nobel Physics Prize for Pioneering Laser Work The honorees, recognized for work on ultrashort, ultrapowerful laser pulses, and delicate laser manipulation of tiny biological structures, include the first woman to get the physics prize since 1963
Jeff Hecht 02 Oct 2018 +
<p style="text-align:justify">The X-band real-aperture side-looking radar of the Cosmos-1500 spacecraft was placed into orbit in 1983 and worked for 3 years. This was the first space radar of that type, providing an order wider swath than preceding Seasat synthetic-aperture radar, at the expense of the lower resolution. Additionally, it generated microwave images on board and delivered them directly to the users via a dedicated radio-frequency channel. It was conceived and designed by the team led by Anatoly Kalmykov at the Institute of Radiophysics and Electronics NASU in Kharkiv. This radar sensor system, operational at the 650-km polar orbit, was aimed at research into ocean waving, icing, and storm tracking. However, its most remarkable and broadly covered impact was the provision of safe navigation in Arctic and Antarctic, especially in the polar night conditions, due to steady flow of the moderate-resolution microwave images of the sea ice and free water areas. This resulted in two successful rescue operations performed by the icebreakers equipped with the receivers of orbital data. At all stages of the radar development and operation, Kalmykov played crucial role, spearheading his team efforts and overcoming the technical and political obstacles. Due to success of that system, the same radar was later produced in small series in Ukraine and used at six USSR/Russian and two Ukrainian ocean-sensing spacecraft until 2004. This led to establishment of Ukraine as a nation, able to develop orbital radar sensor systems, and highlighted invaluable opportunities of orbital microwave imagery in oceanography and polar navigation.</p> +
A
Active power consumes electric power in alternating-current circuits, whereas reactive power does not. University professors in the department of electrical and electronic engineering around the world taught students a pair of active and reactive powers in single-phase circuits under the assumptions of sinusoidal voltage and current waveforms in steady-state conditions, and then expanded it to three-phase circuits. All the existing theories of the instantaneous reactive power based on single-phase circuits, required information on past voltage and current. This automatically rendered it inaccurate because the use of information in the past resulted in being no longer “instantaneous.” In the 1970s, power electronic experts around the world challenged to solve this problem, but no one succeeded in establishing any convincing theory.
Hirofumi Akagi, thinking in reverse, began to define a pair of instantaneous powers in three-phase circuits, and gave a mathematical proof of their physical meanings in May 1986. Both definition and physical meaning were consistent with speculation, which prompted experts to accept it as valid. Currently, Akagi’s theory is often called the “p-q theory,” amongst the experts in the world because it is characterized by a clear and unique definition of a pair of instantaneous powers, p and q, in three-phase systems.
As soon as Dr. Akagi established the p-q theory, he applied it to the control and design of a reactive-power compensator consisting of semiconductor switching devices without any bulky energy storage component such as inductors or capacitors. He verified innovative operating characteristics that had until then been impossible to obtain through the application of the conventional reactive-power theory in single-phase circuits.
He presented the world's first paper on the p-q theory at an international conference held in Tokyo in April 1983, followed by an IEEE Transactions paper published in May 1984 after a strict paper review process. Since then, the p-q theory has been considered as a fundamental theory in three-phase circuits, even in electrical and electronic engineering. The total citations of the conference paper in 1983 and the IEEE Transactions paper in 1984 reached more than 63,00 times, increasing over 37 years after the two papers were first presented and published.
The Instantaneous Powers Theory, also known as the “p-q Theory,” proposed by Hirofumi Akagi in the mid-1980s, represents a landmark advancement in electrical engineering. Unlike conventional power theory which started with single-phase systems, and expanding it into three-phase circuits that relied on steady-state and sinusoidal assumptions, Akagi’s theory enabled the definition and control of power flow using instantaneous voltage and current in three-phase systems. This innovation allowed real-time analysis of dynamic, distorted, and unbalanced conditions, addressing rising power quality issues caused by nonlinear loads and power electronic devices.
The theory’s practical implementation includes the control and design of active filters, and static compensators for power conditioning, and Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS) for improving system stability and energy efficiency in power grid operations. It became fundamental to smart grid technologies and the integration of renewable energy sources. Furthermore, the p-q Theory’s mathematical elegance and practical applicability influenced countless academic studies, technical standards, and educational curricula worldwide.
The historical impact of the theory was immediate and far-reaching. Recognized internationally through its 1984 publication in an IEEE journal, the theory prompted new lines of research and innovation in power electronics. Decades later, it remains a cornerstone of modern power system control. Its contributions continue to shape sustainable energy systems and inspire technological advancement, making it a worthy candidate for IEEE Milestone recognition.
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As it was righteously written by W. Patrick McRay, from UCSB in 2007, if ‘’MBE deserves a place in the history books’’, Al Cho, the well-recognized ‘’father of Molecular Beam Epitaxy’’ should also be appointed to the Pantheon of science. Indeed, without MBE and all associated discoveries in physics of semiconductor science, research may not have move forward at such a pace, nor the industry would have been in a position to develop tools with mass production output and yield capabilities. From the small pieces of substrates onto which Al Cho have originally grown the first Quantum Cascade Lasers in a home-made reactor at Bell Labs with Federico Capasso in 1970, to the current multi-150 mm, multi-200 mm up to single 300 mm and 450 mm tools, five decades have passed. Al Cho has enabled a company like RIBER, with whom he has closely collaborated for years, to strive and develop MBE all over the world at industrial level. In 1978 the first International Conference on Molecular Beam Epitaxy took place in Paris, during which Al Cho was conference chair. Since 2004 an award in his name is presented every 2 years, the ‘’Al Cho MBE award’ to scientists who have made fundamental contributions to the science and technology of MBE. It is key to highlight that MBE is THE tool that has enabled Horst Störmer and Daniel Tsui (Bell Labs) to share their 1998 Nobel prize (with Robert Laughlin) in 1998. Out of Bell Labs, MBE has contributed the shared Nobel Prize of Herbert Kroemer, Zhores Alferov and Jack Kilby in 2000. Al Cho is already the recipient of many accolades: the IEEE Medal of Honor in 1994, the Elliot Cresson Medal in 1995, the National Medal of Technology in 2007. He is also in the National Inventor Hall of Fame and he received the National Medal of Science in 1993 from Bill Clinton, President of the United States in 1993, which is the nation’s highest honor for technological achievement. For his lifelong contribution in science of MBE and above, Al Cho deserves another accolade from his pairs.
L
At the 1891 International Electrotechnical Exhibition, Oskar von Miller, Michael Dolivo-Dobrowolsky from Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft (AEG), Germany and Charles Eugene Lancelot Brown from Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon (MFO), Switzerland, demonstrated the world’s first long distance (175km), high voltage (15kV), highly efficient (75%) Lauffen-Frankfurt electrical energy transmission of 300 HP, using the three-phase alternating current.
At that time (i.e., in the late 1880s and in the 1890s) the quite well developed and widely used direct current (DC) electricity production and distribution technology limited the transmission distances to single kilometers and required the construction of many local low-power plants,
supplying consumers divided into separate networks, forming isolated islands. This practically excluded the use of the hydroelectric power, which needed to be transmitted over long distances. On the other hand, the new alternating current (AC) technology, which due to a possibility of transformation the energy to high voltages for the long-distance transmission, was not yet accepted and met with strong resistance.
The 1891 Lauffen-Frankfurt electrical energy transmission provided convincing and necessary evidence of the economic and technical feasibility of supplying power generated at remote locations to industrial and residential centers. This demonstration directly influenced the establishment of the dominant worldwide role of electric power transmission using three-phase alternating current systems. +
U
Back in 1976, having exhausted the optimization of the available manual and automatic (strowger-type) facilities, ANTEL’s ( the state-owned local telecommunications utility) technical section in charge of the growing Telex service--led by Eng Juan Carlos Miguez and later by his assistant Eng Rodolfo Fariello—boldly decided to commission the design and construction of a full- electronic program controlled exchange to serve the public traffic to the incipient electronic industry in Uruguay. Juan Miguez had previously worked for 3 years in Siemens, Munich in the full-electronic Telex EDS project and got to know -from the inside- the realities of developments and sales of non-existent products based on nice brochures. Antel authorities approved the concept, which included an up-front payment to partially cover the long design and construction phase. The system was specified and a consortium formed by the companies CONTROLES (HW oriented, formerly GMS) and INTERFASE (SW oriented, formerly ISIS) was selected in a public bid. A generation of brilliant Engineers--Juan Grompone, Nestor Mace, Jaime Jerusalmi, Enrique Salles, among others--educated at the public University UDELAR under the excellent mentorship of Professor Ricardo Perez Iribarren, had founded those enterprises that took the challenge. With ANTEL’s technical guidance and financial support, they successfully had the first 128-line prototype in service in 1980; quickly expanding to several 1024 units satisfying -through major international carriers- all international traffic demands and giving reliable service to the whole country. In 1990, a similar system was configured as an X-25 packet switch providing national and international traffic; TCP/IP was incorporated in 1995, giving the country its first public access to Internet. Internet growth made those services obsolete and they were decommissioned in 2012. This endeavor was an exceptional proof of applying good engineering principles and practices to the develop of advanced products, with no previous knowledge or experience: just an appropriate specification of the needs and the international standards to follow.
In summary, the support of the state-owned Telecom, ANTEL was fundamental, and the locally designed, and built equipment gave the country reliable, modern, digital communications for years. It also resulted in a spillover to the whole local Electronic Industry, which resulted not only in engineering and technological jobs creation, but also in a plethora of successful products for the local market, some of which have been also exported.
The project is also mentioned in a book that could noy be found:
Sutz, J. (1986) El auge de la industria electrónica profesional uruguaya: raíces y perspectivas, Cuadernos del CIESU Nº 52, Ediciones de la Banda Oriental, Montevideo.
T
By the middle of 1980s very basic notions of regularization, back propagation and the multi-scale averaging method known as convolution had been conceived by various researchers including a small group at the University of Toronto to imitate vision in biological systems. However, these methods typically required computational resources far beyond what was then available. After a brief postdoctoral position at Toronto, Yann LeCun joined Bell Labs, the world’s leading communication R&D center at the time. It was in this setting and under the guidance of Larry Jackel, that a 1st practical convolutional neural network was designed and implemented by LeCun and his collaborators (later named LeNet) for handwriting recognition. This was the 1st non-trivial classification system able to perform computer vision using the deep neural network (DNN) architecture. It is remarkable to note that almost all of the key computational components that are taken for granted in use of DNNs for computer vision today: convolution (for dimensionality reduction), regularization (to handle numerical stability), back propagation (for gradient-based learning) and pruning (to reduce the number of parameters in a DNN) were all incorporated in this first demonstration of computer vision, a cognitive task that up to that time had not been performed by any machine. Two and one half decades later, with the wide availability of powerful graphical processing units, these same collection of techniques initiated the AI revolution of the early 21st century. +
H
Commissioned in 1973, The Heavy Ion Accelerator Facility (HIAF) is a unique scientific facility that combines voltages of up to fifteen million volts with some of the most accurate beam control and detection technology in the world. HIAF consists of a fifteen million volt tandem electrostatic accelerator with an additional six million volt linear accelerator loop. Driven by Australia’s largest and highest energy ion accelerator, ions ranging from hydrogen to plutonium can be accelerated. Eleven adaptable beam lines and myriad detector systems allow a wide variety of experiments to be performed. <br><br>
This facility has aided humanity in achieving technical excellence in diverse domains throughout its history. No wonder that researchers from all over the globe come to use the power and precision of the Heavy-Ion Accelerator to explore a wide range of topics, from exploration of fundamental dynamics of nuclear reactions to analysis of environmental samples, dark matter detectors to developing new medical therapies. +
T
Discussions about packet-switched networks had been going on for a decade; however, “inter-networking” of distinct networks really started in late 1972 with Robert Kahn’s ideas for interoperation that were elaborated more concretely with Vinton Cerf in 1973. <br>
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In late 1973, Cerf and Kahn submitted their paper “A Protocol for Packet Network Intercommunication” for publication in the <i>IEEE Transactions on Communications</i> scientific journal. Appearing in May 1974, the paper described the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) that supported the interconnection of multiple packet-switched networks to form an internet. Split later into TCP and the Internet Protocol (IP), TCP and IP became core components of the global Internet of today. Launched operationally in 1983, the 2023 Internet now links about 5.3 billion people and many billions more devices, many of which enable access to millions of applications of the World Wide Web (WWW) that rides atop the Internet.<br>
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The Internet’s development inspired or grew new businesses that made hardware and software products for implementing and using the Internet such as routers, optical fiber networks, Wi-Fi, cloud computing services, and many other WWW-enabled products such as search engines and social media applications. Since 1973, many innovators have created the protocols, networks, devices, and businesses that now make up the global Internet.<br>
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TCP and IP were contemporary with two other internetworking proposals: X.25/X.75 from the ITU-T (then the CCITT), and the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) protocols from the Organization for International Standardization (ISO). Over time, the competition among these choices settled largely in favor of the Internet’s TCP/IP. +
G
During 1951-52, Grace Hopper earned a Ph.D. in both mathematics and mathematical physics from Yale. As a programmer, she invented the A-0 system, an early compiler. Grace Hopper wrote a series of specifications that functioned as a linker/loader and was called an A-0 Compiler. It was a pioneering achievement of Automatic Programming as well as a pioneering utility program for the management of subroutines. For each subroutine, programmers wrote some specs. The reason it got called a compiler was that each subroutine was given a "call word," because the subroutines were in a library, and when programmers pull stuff out of a library programmers compile things. It was designed to let people write quickly the specs for a mathematical program, one time usually a one-time execution, and get an answer fast. And the main purpose was to get programs out fast and get answers fast. Based on the A-0 compiler, Grace Hopper led teams that developed FLOW-MATIC, a computer language that led to COBOL(Common Business-Oriented Language). The A-0 Compiler influenced the development of Arithmetic and Business Programming Languages as well as COBOL and became the dominant high-level language for business, government, and military applications. These standardized, user-friendly innovations promoted wider, transformative adoption of computerization in modern life.
Dr. Grace Murray Brewster Hopper (1906-1992):
A legacy of innovation and service
Grace Hopper was the recipient of more than 40 honorary degrees, and
many scholarships, professorships, awards, and conferences are
named in her honor. In 1972 she received Yale’s Wilbur Lucius
Cross Medal. In 1991 President George Bush awarded Hopper the
National Medal of Technology, the nation’s highest technology
award; she was the first woman to be honored as an individual.
In 1996 the Navy commissioned the U.S.S. Hopper, a guided
missile destroyer. Kurt Beyer, author of “Grace Hopper and the
Invention of the Information Age,” suggests that Hopper achieved
so much attention and even “celebrity” late in life because a
A congressman from Illinois saw an interview with
Hopper on “60 Minutes” in 1983. After seeing the interview he
successfully introduced a bill to have Hopper promoted to the rank
of commodore.
At the age of 79, Hopper retired as a rear admiral. She was the
oldest serving officer in the U.S. Armed Forces. That same year she
went to work as a senior consultant in public relations at the Digital
Equipment Corporation, where she worked up until a year before
her death in 1992. Hopper was buried with full military honors in
Arlington National Cemetery.
In 2016 Hopper posthumously received the Presidential Medal of
Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, in recognition of her
remarkable contributions to the field of computer science.
2-17-2017 - Yale News
Karen N. Peart: 203-980-2222
The Compiler is one of the fundamental technologies in the history of computing. The
invention of the compiler made it possible to write high-level computer programs, which in turn
led to increased programmer productivity and reduced rates of error. This review examines the
Milestone-Proposal for recognizing the invention of the compiler.
“The compiler translated human-readable English keywords or commands into
machine-readable instructions or code, thus creating well-defined communication
between human programmers and computers.
Ragib Hasan, Ph.D., IEEE Member
Grace Hopper was one of the first programmers on the MARK1. In 1952 she invented the COMPILER, which translated readable English keywords or commands into machine-readable instructions or code. Hopper’s FLOW_MATIC programming language to English commands and user-defined data names was used in the UNIVAC1 in 1957. Grace Hopper’s FLOW-MATIC compiler used in the UNIVAC1, helped shape the development of COBOL (COmmon Business Oriented Language) which became popular worldwide.
L
During the 1960s, the US ballistic missile defense (BMD) community had developed a need for wideband observables technology to assess re-entry vehicles and decoys. In 1970, the ALCOR (ARPA-Lincoln C-Band Observables Radar) became operational at the Kwajalein Missile Range in the central Pacific. ALCOR served as a test facility for wideband radar techniques under development at Lincoln Laboratory and other organizations in the BMD community. The development of ALCOR from 1970 to 1987 was a significant technical achievement, as it was the first system to demonstrate feasibility and practicality of long-range wideband three-dimensional imaging of satellites from a ground-based radar. ALCOR’s first images were of the Soviet Salyut-1 space station, which were produced in 1971 using inverse synthetic aperture radar (ISAR) techniques – those images are still classified and not available for public release. In 1973, ALCOR radar system images were used to diagnose deployment problems of the U.S. Skylab space station. In 1987, ALCOR demonstrated the first near real-time wideband waveform imaging of space objects. The ALCOR radar demonstrated a benefit to humanity as it provided ground-based wideband imaging technology for better understanding of re-entry vehicles, decoys, satellites, and space debris. Following the development of ALCOR, this wideband imaging technology was picked up worldwide. The German Research Establishment for Applied Science (FGAN) Research Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques (FHR) Tracking and Imaging Radar (TIRA), built in the 1990s, uses comparable wideband technology and ISAR algorithms and today generates many space-object images that are viewable in the public domain. +
G
During the period of virtual national isolation of Japan in terms of diplomacy, Gennai Hiraga obtained a broken imported electrostatic generator in Nagasaki.
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He had spent six years repairing and restoring in Tokyo the first
friction-induced electrostatic generator in Japan when he finally
succeeded in 1776. He used it as a reference to build several such devices which was called Elekiteru, two of which are still in existence. At that time, the Elekiteru was used as a spectacle and medical device.
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He did not just repair and restore the original. He improved upon it to create additional Elekiterus on his own.
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The older method of spatial insulation by hanging or supporting with a string was improved to using pine resin as insulation material.
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Transmitting the rotation of the handle to drive the generator was done originally by tying large and small circular pulleys with a string. Gennai improved it to use wooden gears instead.
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Two Elekiteru devices produced by Gennai Hiraga are still in existence.: one at the Postal Museum operated by Japan Post in Tokyo and the other at the Gennai Hiraga Memorial Museum in Kagawa Prefecture. The device in Tokyo has been designated as an important cultural property of Japan by the Japanese government.
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The device Gennai Hiraga created in Japan made following
generations of inventors and the curious minded get acquainted with the
behavior of static electricity and get ready to tackle
electrical engineering in a modern setting in the 19th century. +
A
Encryption is essential in protecting privacy of citizens in communication via the internet and many other communication channels. Additionally, cryptography is used to secure the remote control and management of devices and infrastructure critical in modern society: the electricity grid, the Internet itself, software updates in computers and appliances, control systems in cars, buses and trains, etc. Rijndael, after having been selected AES by NIST has played a central role worldwide to protect information from unauthorized access.
Virtually all present-day systems that need cryptography use AES/Rijndael. +
O
Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) with error correction for wireless networks, 1992 +
From 1989 to 1992, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), under the leadership of Dr. John O’Sullivan, developed a pioneering solution to one of the most persistent problems in wireless communication: multipath interference. Their innovation—orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) combined with forward error correction—enabled reliable, high-speed wireless data transmission, even in complex indoor environments. This breakthrough was granted U.S. Patent 5,487,069 in 1996 and later became a cornerstone of the IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi® standards.
This invention came at a pivotal time, coinciding with the rapid growth of personal computing and the emergence of mobile devices. By allowing seamless wireless connectivity across homes, workplaces, and public venues, CSIRO’s work fundamentally changed how people accessed and interacted with the digital world. The practical impact was enormous—users could now connect to the internet without wires, leading to mass adoption of laptops, smartphones, and wireless devices. This democratization of internet access not only boosted productivity and innovation but also lowered manufacturing costs through economies of scale, making connected technology more accessible globally.
Despite its widespread adoption, CSIRO’s patented technology was used by many tech giants without compensation, sparking legal battles. The organization eventually secured over AUD 430 million in settlements from companies including HP, Microsoft, Dell, and Apple. These high-profile cases highlighted the often-overlooked value of publicly funded research and reinforced the importance of protecting intellectual property. CSIRO’s Wi-Fi invention remains a landmark achievement, blending scientific excellence with real-world impact. +
B
From 1996 to 1998, researchers at Bell Labs pioneered a revolutionary approach to wireless communication by inventing the BLAST MIMO architecture. BLAST, which stands for Bell Labs Layered Space-Time, introduced a layered method for transmitting multiple, independent data streams simultaneously over multiple antennas. This spatial multiplexing strategy drastically increased data throughput without requiring additional bandwidth or power.
The concept, first articulated by Gerard J. Foschini in 1996, was validated by experimental work through the development of the V-BLAST system, which demonstrated real-time decoding of high-throughput data in rich-scattering environments. The BLAST MIMO architecture set the theoretical and practical foundation for modern wireless systems, directly influencing 4G LTE, 5G NR, and IEEE 802.11n/ac/ax Wi-Fi technologies. +
H
Honda’s P2 humanoid robot, introduced in 1996, represents a historic milestone in robotics history. As the first self-contained, autonomous humanoid robot capable of stable, dynamic bipedal walking, P2 demonstrated real-world feasibility of human-like locomotion, overcoming challenges such as dynamic balance and real-time feedback control. It introduced advanced dynamic balance control, real-time feedback systems, and highly articulated motion planning—setting a technical benchmark that would serve as the foundation for future generations of humanoid robots.
At a time when most global robotics research was focused on quadrupeds or wheeled robots with limited autonomy, P2 stood out for its fully integrated architecture and human-scale physicality, surpassing contemporaneous quadruped and wheeled robots in versatility and adaptability. Its development marked a major shift in robotics—from machines optimized for industrial tasks to intelligent, mobile agents designed for social and assistive roles. <br>
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Scientifically, P2 contributed to robotics, biomechanics, and AI by addressing the complex problem of dynamically stable bipedal locomotion. Socially, it reshaped public perception of robots and accelerated the development of applications in healthcare, rehabilitation, education, and personal assistance. Its technological and conceptual breakthroughs paved the way for the ASIMO series and inspired international research in humanoid robotics, setting a trajectory that continues to shape the industry today. <br>
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D
Honorary Professor Yasuharu Suematsu, Tokyo Institute of Technology, realized the single-mode semiconductor laser characterized by unwavering single-mode operations even under high-speed modulations, in the minimum-loss wavelength band suitable for ultra-high-capacity and long-haul optical fiber transmissions. Preferential laser materials in the minimum-loss-wavelength band for silica fibers, namely, the 1.5-µm region were also developed. Then, he realized the single-mode operation even under high-speed direct modulation in the wavelength band of 1.3 and 1.5 µm with basis of the long-wavelength laser material and the single-wavelength resonator. The invention was opened to industries and was intended for early commercialization of long-distance fiber communication systems. These achievements opened door for high-capacity optical fiber communications and contributed to the evolution of the Internet ICT society today. It is noted that some of the structures had been widely used for optical communication systems in later years. The pioneering work on long-wavelength single-mode lasers in optical fiber communications played a pivotal role in catapulting humanity into an era underscored by information and communication technology. In addition, an electrically-tunable single-mode semiconductor laser has been widely used as a light source for dense wavelength division multiplexing systems and for digital coherent communications. The achievement opened a door for broadband optical communications in global high-capacity networks, which constitute the backbone of the internet. +
T
In 1889, the first long-distance commercial electric power transmission in the United States was from this location to the City of Portland. +
M
In 1914 the Marconi Kahuku wireless telegraph station was the world’s largest wireless communications center and is a registered national historic landmark. It played a critical role in providing the Hawaiian Islands with worldwide wireless telegraphic and later telephonic communications. The Hawaiian government learned that in March 1899 Marconi transmitted the first wireless messages across the English Channel between France and England and wanted it for transmitting messages between inter-island due to the failure of inter-island cable communication due to the deep ocean waters between islands. Marconi wireless telegraph stations were brought to Hawaii in 1899 forming Inter-Island Telegraph which later became Hawaiian Telecom Company. In June 1900 the first message was sent four miles from Iolani Palace to the Kaimuki station and was the first wireless transmission west of the Rocky Mountains. Five of the Hawaiian Islands were connected for the first time and the Kahuku station was constructed on the north shore of Oahu. For long range wireless telegraph signals, Marconi Corporation proposed “A Wireless Gridle around the Earth” using Kahuku station to connect stations on the US mainland with Japan/Asia. On Sep 24, 1914 the Kahuku long range station sent its first message to the President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson and by 1916 it was transmitting to Funabashi Station in Japan connecting Japan to the US mainland with wireless communication. +
F
In 1958, Japan achieved a pioneering milestone in renewable energy
with the implementation of a solar-powered radio relay station by
Tohoku Electric Power Co., Inc. and NEC. Located on Mount Shinobuyama,
this off-grid facility utilized 4,320 silicon solar cells and
nickel-cadmium batteries to generate 70 watts, reliably operating a
4.5 watt transistor-based relay module continuously. The total
power of 70 W is set to be more than ten times the load power
consumption of 4.5 W, taking into account the self-discharge of the
storage battery.
The station's success marked the first real-world application of solar power in Japan for critical infrastructure. At a time when photovoltaic technology was largely experimental, this achievement demonstrated solar energy's practical viability in remote and harsh environments. It also showcased the effective integration of generation, storage, and low-power electronics—a blueprint for modern renewable systems.
This system influenced Japan’s technological trajectory in solar and battery research. It attracted attention from academia and industry, inspiring future installations in isolated locations such as mountains, islands, and post-disaster zones.
In addition to its technical contributions, the project had profound social implications. It enhanced the safety and efficiency of operations in remote communication networks while reducing reliance on fossil fuels and minimizing maintenance.
The Shinobuyama radio relay station is widely recognized as a cornerstone in
Japan’s journey toward sustainable energy. Its legacy continues to
resonate through current renewable energy policies and innovations. As
one of the earliest reliable, autonomous solar installations
worldwide, it represents a historically significant and
forward-looking accomplishment in electrical engineering. +
