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USF Professor Elected to Florida Inventors Hall of Fame

Richard D. Gitlin | USF | Florida Inventors Hall of Fame

Richard D. Gitlin is co-inventor of DSL, which enables internet access over telephone lines.

TAMPA – A University of South Florida professor has been chosen to be inducted into the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame.

Richard D. Gitlin is one of eight inventors to be honored. Gitlin, who holds 60 U.S. patents, is being recognized for his innovative research and development in digital communications, broadband networking and wireless systems that transformed communication technology. Most notably, Gitlin is the co-inventor of DSL (digital subscriber line), which allows internet access over telephone networks. He has more than 40 years of leadership in the communications and networking industry. Gitlin is a state of Florida 21st Century World Class Scholar and the Agere Systems endowed chair in USF’s Department of Electrical Engineering.

“The entire USF community is fortunate to have Dr. Gitlin as a colleague, professor, mentor and friend, and we are thrilled to celebrate this significant achievement with him,” USF System President Judy Genshaft said. “Dr. Gitlin’s inventions have played a leading role in revolutionizing communications around the world, and as a USF Distinguished Professor he continues to push the boundaries of discovery to bring new and better technologies to our daily lives.”

Before coming to USF, Gitlin performed and led pioneering research and development at Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies for 32 years. At the time of his retirement, he was serving as senior vice president for communications and networking research.

“I am honored to join such an esteemed group of inventors in the Florida Inventors Hall of Fame – inventors whose innovations have changed our society in the way we think, work, and live,” Gitlin said. “Coming to USF after almost four decades in the private sector, in the northeast and Silicon Valley, I have been very pleased by Florida’s emphasis on fostering and recognizing important new ideas and technology.”

Gitlin’s latest focus is one of great promise at the intersection of communications and medicine: miniature and anchored remote videoscope for expedited laparoscopy. This invention is aimed at taking minimally invasive surgery to new technological heights by creating a single device – with a light source, multiple cameras, and a wireless transmitter – allowing a surgeon to work with both hands and potentially preventing dangerous accidental incisions. He also has developed a compact VectorCardiogram that can provide diagnostic quality ECG information in a wearable format that ultimately uses machine learning to predict a cardiac event.

His commitment to educating the next generation of engineering leaders is evidenced in his co-authorship of Data Communications Principles, an electrical engineering textbook published in 1992 that was the standard text for data communications students for a decade. Gitlin is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a fellow of the IEEE, a Bell Laboratories fellow, a charter fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, and a co-recipient of the 2005 Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award and the S.O. Rice prize.

“Dr. Gitlin is a leader in American innovation whose career achievements have changed the way people communicate and live,” said Paul Sanberg, USF senior vice president for research, innovation and economic development. “His technological and intellectual abilities, along with his immense inventive spirit, now inspire a new generation to conduct the kind of high-impact research that will shape our future.”

A complete list of this year’s Florida Inventors Hall of Fame inductees, including biographical information, is available at FloridaInvents.org.

The inventors will be inducted at the fourth annual Florida Inventors Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Gala on September 8, 2017, at the Hilton Tampa Downtown.

The Florida Inventors Hall of Fame is located at USF in Tampa and supported, in part, by the Florida High Tech Corridor Council. The Hall of Fame recognizes and commends Florida inventors whose achieve­ments have advanced the quality of life for Floridians, the state and the nation. FIHF encourages individuals of all ages and backgrounds to strive toward the betterment of Florida and society through continuous, groundbreaking innovation, and, by commending the incredible scientific work being accomplished in the state, to further the growth of Florida’s innovation sector.

Florida Inventors Hall of Fame | Richard D. Gitlin | USF | Education | TB Reporter

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