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Washington -- The SDR Forum announced the winners of their annual Achievement Awards during SDR'09 Technical Conference and Product Exposition, the premier event for the reconfigurable radio community, December 1 to December 4 in Washington, D.C. Dr. Bruce Fette of DARPA won the President's Award, The Harris Unity™ XG-100 earned Technology of the Year and Eric Nicollet of Thales took home the International Achievement Award. A special award was also given to Dr. John Glossner for chairing the conference as well. Winners were announced during the event's Technology Showcase and Welcome Event on 1 December.

The SDR Forum's Presidents' Award is a new award, presented to individuals in recognition of their sustained outstanding contributions in support of the SDR Forum and its activities. The inaugural recipient of this award, Dr. Bruce Fette, has played an immense role in the growth and history of The SDR Forum. As a co-founder of the Forum in 1996, Fette served on the board of directors and held additional positions, including treasurer and technical committee chair. He was the creator of the annual technical conference in 2002 and served as conference chair until 2009, when he moved from Forum member General Dynamics C4 Systems to DARPA. Fette also worked together with Lee Pucker, SDR Forum CEO, to create the Smart Radio Challenge, reaching out to students worldwide and promoting the educational mission of the Forum.

A new award this year, The Technology of the Year is presented to an individual or organization for a breakthrough product or technology in the field of Software Defined or Cognitive Radio as selected by the members. For 2009 this award goes to the Harris Unity™ XG-100 Full-Spectrum Multiband Radio which provides federal, state and local agencies with the first portable "One-for-All" solution that delivers true interoperability with first responders and public safety professionals. Supporting both digital APCO P25 secure and analog FM communications across the VHF, UHF, 700 MHz and 800 MHz public safety bands in a single portable radio, responders can now communicate with multiple jurisdictions and agencies operating on many different frequencies and systems. Built-in advanced capabilities include two-microphone noise suppression and clear audio for operation in high-noise environments, GPS receiver for position tracking and rapid response for emergencies, and secure Bluetooth® technology for wireless audio accessories and wireless data support. The XG-100 is built to the military standard for ruggedness and submersibility, designed to be intrinsically safe, and features a true software defined radio architecture that allows flexibility for future growth, including a software-only upgrade to the APCO P25 phase 2 TDMA standards. User-friendly radio controls include a transflective front color display with intuitive user interface, configurable OLED top display for holster operation, front panel programming, and easy-grip radio controls.

The SDR Forum International Achievement Award is presented to an individual, group of individuals, or organization that made especially significant contributions to international furtherance or acceptance of Software Defined or Cognitive Radio. It replaces the Forum's Industry Achievement Award and was won this year by Eric Nicollet. Nicollet is the embedded SDR architecture specialist with THALES Communications, France. He has been practicing SDR-related topics since early 1998 and is currently involved in several European initiatives and programs on SDR, in all defense (SCORED/ESSOR), safety-of-life (WINTSEC) and commercial (E²R/E3) domains. Nicollet is a very active member of the SDR Forum representing the European SDR community and has evangelized the capabilities and direction of SDR and Cognitive Radio solutions by being a speaker or panelist at numerous conferences. He has authored or co-authored numerous papers which support the furtherance or acceptance of SDR and Cognitive Radio technologies.

A special award was also given this year to Dr. John Glossner, who took over as conference chair after the departure of long-time chair Fette. Glossner volunteered on very short notice, running the paper review process, helping organize sessions, and coordinating volunteers. Glossner is the co-founder of a small business, Sandbridge Technologies.

SDR'09 features keynotes by high caliber industry leaders, more than 100 high quality technical presentations over four days from industry, government, and university experts, tutorials held on each day of the conference and exhibits from companies all across the wireless value chain, workshops and a JTRS SBIR Industry day. The Conference program can be found here: http://sdrforum.org/sdr09/program.html.

SDR'09 represents the latest in an annual conference that has become a highlight on the wireless industry event calendar. Hosted by The SDR Forum, this event brings together world class business and technical leaders from around the world across commercial and civil organizations including service providers, operators, manufacturers, developers, regulatory agencies, and academia. Sponsored by General Dynamics C4 Systems, Harris, Motorola, Xilinx and Wind River, this year's event will include over 100 paper presentations, four workshop sessions, daily tutorials, and a demonstration event, in addition to the product exposition. Additional information on the SDR'09 program, workshops and panel sessions can be found at www.sdrforum.org/sdr09. Registrations are still being accepted for the remainder of the meeting. Visit our registration page to register.

To learn more about The SDR Forum, its meetings and membership benefits, visit www.sdrforum.org.

SOURCE: The SDR Forum