John Baras receives 2017 IEEE Simon Ramo Medal

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Photo 1: Slide from the short video introduction to Dr. Baras' work shown at the ceremony. Photo 2: Dr. Baras at the 2017 IEEE Honors Ceremony with IEEE President Karen Bartleson (formerly Senior Director of corporate programs and initiatives at Synopsys) on his left, and IEEE President-Elect Jim Jefferies (formerly AT&T and Lucent Technologies executive) on his right. Photo 3: Dr. Baras giving his acceptance speech at the 2017 IEEE Honors Ceremony. Photo 4: The IEEE Simon Ramo Medal.

Professor John S. Baras (ECE/ISR), holder of the endowed Lockheed Martin Chair in Systems Engineering, is the recipient of the 2017 IEEE Simon Ramo Medal, given "for exceptional achievement in systems engineering and systems science." Baras accepted the medal at the 2017 IEEE Honors Ceremony Gala, part of the IEEE Vision Innovation Challenges Summit event in San Francisco on May 25, 2017.

The medal citation for Baras reads, "For exceptional contributions to the conception and commercialization of Internet-over-satellite systems, and for leadership in model-based engineering, systems science and engineering research."

This award is one of the major IEEE-wide Medals, and is the highest IEEE-wide recognition for exceptional achievement in systems engineering and systems science. The IEEE Simon Ramo Medal was established by the IEEE Board of Directors in 1982. It is named in honor of the distinguished engineering contributions of Dr. Simon Ramo, former Vice Chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Executive Committee of TRW, Inc. The award consists of a gold medal, bronze replica, certificate, and an honorarium of $20,000. It is sponsored by Northrop Grumman Corporation.

In the program for the event (see page 9 of the special 2017 IEEE Awards booklet for the full section on Baras), IEEE noted:

"Recognized worldwide as a visionary leader of systems engineering, John Baras' development, commercialization and advancement of Internet-over-satellite (IoS) systems created a new industry that is bringing fast Internet services to tens of millions of people who may otherwise not have access. Baras also provided innovations for secure operation of IoS, such as layered encryption security, which has become an international standard.

As founding director of the University of Maryland's Institute for Systems Research (ISR), Baras has championed the development of model-based systems engineering (MBSE) with a foundational framework that has been successfully applied to industrial applications. He has demonstrated MBSE methodologies to be essential for addressing challenges in software-intensive systems; modular product development in the automotive, aerospace and energy industries; cyber-physical systems; and smart manufacturing.

An IEEE Life Fellow and Fellow of the U.S. National Academy of Inventors, Baras is a professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA."

IEEE.TV has the full live stream of the IEEE Honors Ceremony and the awards presentations,  which can be viewed at http://ieeetv.ieee.org/channels/ieee_awards. The live stream of John Baras’ Simon Ramo Medal award presentation and his brief acceptance speech can be viewed at https://ieeetv.ieee.org/ieeetv-specials/john-s-baras-accepts-the-ieee-simon-ramo-medal-honors-ceremony-2017?rf=channels|9&. This last video also can be played or downloaded from https://ieeetv.ieee.org/ns/ieeetvdl/2017/Honors_2017_08-Ramo.mp4 .

| Learn more about the IEEE Simon Ramo Medal |

Published May 25, 2017