Mario Milicevic to Receive First IEEE Outstanding Young Professional Award

He was recognized for contributions to error correction, quantum cryptography, and education

2 min read

Photo: Mario Milicevic
Photo: Mario Milicevic

THE INSTITUTEMember Mario Milicevic was selected to receive the first IEEE Theodore W. Hissey Outstanding Young Professional Award “for contributions to the technical fields of error correction and quantum cryptography, engineering education, and the IEEE member experience.”

Milicevic is a communication systems engineer at MaxLinear in Irvine, Calif., where he is responsible for the development of algorithms and system-on-chip architectures for high-performance broadband and networking semiconductor products.

He received a doctoral degree in electrical engineering in 2017 from the University of Toronto, where his research focused on the design of error-correction decoders for low-power integrated circuits and quantum cryptography. His research introduced new techniques to overcome CMOS technology scaling limitations in error-correction circuits to support the expected multi-gigabit-per-second data-rate demands of 5G networks.

In addition, he designed error-correcting codes to reduce the computational latency of key reconciliation in quantum key distribution—a secure form of cryptography based on quantum mechanics—over optical fiber for distances beyond 100 kilometers.

Milicevic has taught several engineering courses at the University of Toronto, and has mentored undergraduate student design teams.

Chair of the IEEE Young Professionals committee in 2015 and 2016, he has played an instrumental role in growing the visibility and sustainability of the IEEE Young Professionals program. While chair, he spearheaded the development of a three-year business plan. He worked to expand the presence of Young Professionals activities at SXSW and at IEEE flagship conferences including GLOBECOM and the International Symposium on Circuits and Systems.

He also helped launch the IEEE Entrepreneurship Initiative and its N3XT summit.

Milicevic is the incoming chair of the IEEE public visibility committee and a member of the IEEE Awards Board’s presentations and publicity committee. He was on the team that helped develop the IEEE mobile app.

As an IEEE technical expert, he provides commentary to the news media about blockchain technology, cybersecurity, the Internet of Things , and other topics for Bitcoin Magazine, Computerworld, and additional outlets. He contributes blog posts to The Institute and IEEE Transmitter.

The Hissey Award was created to honor young professionals for contributions to the technical community and IEEE fields of interest. Hissey, an IEEE Life Fellow and IEEE director emeritus, supported the IEEE Young Professionals community over the years.

In an interview with The Institute in 2014, Hissey said, “I seek out and mentor ambitious young professionals and encourage them to seek higher-level positions within IEEE to bring their fresh and innovative ideas into the organization.”

The award is scheduled to be presented during the annual Honors Ceremony, part of the IEEE Vision, Innovation, and Challenges Summit, to be held on 17 May at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina.

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