Leo L. Beranek wins 2008 Vladimir Karapetoff Award

Dr. Leo L. Beranek of Boston, Massachusetts, was awarded the 2008 Vladimir Karapetoff Award, Eta Kappa Nu’s most prestigious award, at a ceremony in Philadelphia, January 24, 2009. The Karapetoff Award is made annually to an electrical engineering practitioner who has distinguished him/herself through an invention, discovery or development that has demonstrated a long-term positive impact on the welfare of society. The citation for the Leo L. Beranek award reads, “For technical attainments in acoustics, broadcasting, and computer networking.”

Formerly a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dr. Beranek was the co-founder of Bolt Beranek and Newman of Cambridge, Massachusetts, a firm known for acoustical engineering and computer software development. He is famous for his work on the design of several international opera houses and concert halls, and on jet aircraft noise suppression at major airports. At BBN, he assembled the software group that invented the Arpanet, the network that grew and became today’s internet. In 1971, he became president of a new company that owned and operated WCVB_TV, Channel 5, Boston. In 1981, the New York Times headlined an article, “Some Say This Is America’s Best TV Station.”

Beranek also served as President of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Chairman of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, a Member of Harvard’s Board of Overseers. He was recipient of National Medal of Science in 2002. His memoir, Riding the Waves, is available from MIT Press.