Fifty years ago in April, in New York City, Martin Cooper placed the first-ever public portable cell phone call. Marty led the development of the technology at Motorola, and that first call ushered in the modern era of mobile connectivity that is now used by billions of people -- and things -- worldwide.

The Wireless Innovation Forum is honored to present Marty Cooper for the third in its series of Tech Talks that honor only the most innovative of wireless innovations. Among other topics, Marty will give us some background on his invention of the portable mobile phone, which is just one of many wireless innovations in which he has been involved.

Because of the popularity of this topic and talk, we will be accepting questions prior to the event. What do you want to know from the Father of the Cell Phone? Email us your questions.

More background on our speaker, courtesy of the National Academy of Engineering:

Martin Cooper is a pioneer in the wireless communications industry, an inventor, entrepreneur and executive. He has had been a contributor to the technology of personal wireless communications for over 50 years He conceived the first portable cellular phone in 1973 and is cited in the Guinness Book of World Records for making the first cellular telephone call. Cooper knew then that people needed the freedom that comes from anywhere, anytime telephony in contrast to being tethered to a desk or a car. He has been referred to as the father of portable cellular telephony and is recognized as an innovator in spectrum management.

Cooper was a submarine officer in the U.S. Navy, a division manager and head of R&D for Motorola during a  29 year tenure. As an entrepreneur he has started a number of businesses including co-founding GreatCall, Inc., maker of the Jitterbug phone and service and ArrayComm, the world leader in smart antenna technology.

Cooper was an inaugural member of the WHF Wireless Hall of Fame, Red Herring magazine named him one of the Top 10 Entrepreneurs of 2000, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania Business named him a Transformation Technology Change Leader and he is a recipient of the IEEE Centennial Medal.  In 2010, he was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering and was awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize for Science and Technology. In March, 2011 Cooper was nominated for the “Mikhail Gorbachev: The Man Who Changed the World” Award.

Cooper holds a B.S. and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering and an honorary doctorate from the Illinois Institute of Technology on whose board of Trustees he serves.

(photo Twitter/@MartyMobile)

About the Moderator:

Andrew Clegg is Spectrum Engineering Lead for Google. He is currently focused on shared spectrum opportunities in mid-band spectrum, among other things. He was previously program director for spectrum management at the U.S. National Science Foundation, where he was the creator of a $60 million research program to support enhanced access to the radio spectrum. Prior to NSF, he was lead member of technical staff for Cingular Wireless (now AT&T Mobility), a senior engineer at Comsearch, and a research scientist at the Naval Research Laboratory. He holds a PhD in radio astronomy from Cornell University.