Robert W. Heath, Jr.

Panelist during the Award Recipient Panel and 2025 IEEE/RSE James Clerk Maxwell Medal recipient

Robert W. Heath, Jr. has made foundational contributions to the theory and practice of MIMO (multiple-input, multiple-output) multiple-antenna technology. His groundbreaking contributions have become an integral part of 5G communication networks and have shaped much of the ongoing 5G and 6G research. Today, MIMO is the 4key technology that is enabling all mobile and Wi-Fi networks. In particular, he was a key figure in the development of channel-aware MIMO transmission. One of his notable achievements includes the limited feedback paradigm for quantizing MIMO channel state information and multi-mode precoding, where the number of data streams for MIMO transmission are adapted over time based on the channel. He also played a role in the development of millimeter-wave (mmWave) MIMO communication. Over the past decade, mobile networks have been moving to higher operating frequencies, and this move requires antenna arrays with many elements (up to 1000 today), along with beamforming and beam-based MIMO communication methods. Heath has been the key leader in hybrid architectures, which combine analog and digital beamforming and which have become defining features of the 5G physical layer in cellular communication systems. Additionally, Heath has been an important advocate for the application of millimeter wave MIMO to application verticals like vehicular systems. His early work demonstrated how millimeter wave MIMO systems could overcome blockage effects with sufficient density of deployed base stations. His other landmark work has shown how to use machine learning to leverage sensor data found on vehicles, like position information, to reduce the overheads associated with establishing millimeter-wave MIMO links. This research sets the stage for future MIMO advancements targeting new applications and industry verticals in 6G and beyond.

An IEEE Fellow, Heath Jr. is the Charles Lee Powell Chair, Wireless Communications, University of California, San Diego, California, USA.