2011 Frank Gunther Award of the Radio Club of America to Nicolas Mora and Felix Vega
Carole Perry of the RCA Board of Directors and the two recipients of the 2011 Frank Gunther Award Felix Vega (left) and Nicolas Mora (right).
Felix Vega and Nicolas Mora, Ph.D. students from the Electromagnetic Compatibility Laboratory of EPFL received this award for their outstanding achievements on the use of high power electromagnetic devices in humanitarian clearance activities.
Felix Vega and Nicolas Mora have designed a device capable of safely exploding improvised explosive devices (IEDs) from a safe distance. The project is carried out in cooperation with the National University of Colombia and Los Andes University and is financially supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the cooperation office at EPFL (cooperation@epfl).
Felix Vega and Nicolas Mora received this distinction during the annual award ceremony of the Radio Club of America which was held in Dallas, Texas on November 19, 2011.
The Radio Club of America (RCA) was founded in 1909 and is the oldest radio club in the world. Its members include some of the most important leaders of the international wireless communications industry. Frank Gunther was the International President of the Armed Forces Communications Electronics Association, and made significant contributions to wireless communications. This award is given by the RCA Board of Directors to individuals who have made major contributions to the advancement of military electronic communications systems. Other awards from the RCA have been accepted by people such as the famous broadcaster Walter Cronkite, the inventor of the Blackberry Andrew Seybold, and the inventor of the cell phone Marty Cooper. Only five other people have received the Gunther Award since its establishment in 1996. Andy Rubin, Vice President of Google and the inventor of the Android OS was also a recipient of an RCA award this year.