MIPI Alliance Recognizes Members at Annual Awards Ceremony

Awards presented for distinguished work advancing the organization’s specifications for mobile, IoT, automotive and other applications

PISCATAWAY, N.J., June 2, 2020 - The MIPI^® Alliance, an international organization that develops interface specifications for mobile and mobile-influenced industries, today announced the 2019 MIPI Alliance Membership Award recipients. The awards were presented at a virtual State of the Alliance and Awards Ceremony.

“The MIPI annual awards program follows a tradition of recognizing individuals and companies whose dedication and contributions have made notable impacts in the development of specifications that advance hardware and software integration in mobile, IoT, automotive and other areas,” said Joel Huloux, chairman of MIPI Alliance. “MIPI greatly values its entire membership, and it’s rewarding to see firsthand the camaraderie and respect shared throughout the organization as we recognize key contributors to MIPI’s important specification development work.”  

The annual awards program recognizes outstanding contributions and achievements by individual and corporate members. An awards and recognition committee appointed by the board of directors receives nominations from MIPI members and selects the recipients. This year’s program honored six award recipients in four categories: Lifetime Achievement, Working Group Leadership, Distinguished Service and Corporate.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to individuals who have participated in MIPI Alliance efforts for at least seven years and provided significant contributions or leadership to a working group, the board or other MIPI entities. Two individuals were awarded this year: Roy Chestnut of Teledyne LeCroy and Tom Kopet of ON Semiconductor.

• As chair and vice chair of the MIPI DevCon Steering Committee since the inaugural DevCon event, Roy Chestnut has played an instrumental role in providing developer resources and promoting MIPI’s overall value to the industries it serves. Throughout his years of service, and continuing today, he has demonstrated notable dedication to MIPI and made valuable contributions to the committees and working groups in which he participates.
• With over 15 years of service, Tom Kopet has been a long-standing technical contributor. As the current vice chair of the MIPI Camera Working Group, he has worked extensively to promote consistency across different MIPI specifications and was recognized for his invaluable contributions to the MIPI CSI-2 specification.

The Working Group Leadership Award is presented to leaders within MIPI working groups in recognition of noteworthy contributions to the groups’ activities or specification development work. Two individuals were recognized for their efforts this year:

• Haran Thanigasalam of Intel Corporation was recognized for his devoted work as chair of the MIPI Camera Working Group, playing the lead role in delivering a robust camera and imaging interface roadmap. His notable contributions include the advancement and expanded adoption of MIPI CSI-2, evolving it as the de facto specification for multiple product platforms for the mobile, PC, IoT and automotive industries.
• Enrico Carrieri of Intel Corporation was awarded for his leadership as chair of the MIPI Debug Working Group. He was cited for his broad technical knowledge and organizational skills within and across MIPI working groups, demonstrating how closely interdependent specifications can be developed in parallel.

The Distinguished Service Award recognizes individuals impacting the MIPI specification development process or those contributing by serving on the board of directors, a working group or helping in the areas of marketing and testing. Eyuel Zewdu Teferi of STMicroelectronics was awarded for multiple contributions to advance the development and adoption of the MIPI I3C and I3C Basic specifications. He was also recognized for his efforts to support collateral MIPI activities, including acting as a liaison to JEDEC, contribution to the MIPI I3C Conformance Test Suite currently under development and participating in interoperability sessions, while also staying abreast of emerging security issues.

The Corporate Award was presented to Samsung Electronics, Co., an active member of MIPI Alliance since joining in 2004. Samsung was honored for its leadership on the board of directors, as well as the Marketing Steering Group and Display Working Group. Participating in virtually every MIPI working group and having made significant contributions to MIPI CSI-2, C-PHY, DSI-2, UniPro and, in particular, D-PHY, the company was recognized for its ongoing proactivity and commitment to the Alliance. The company continues to support not only specification and resource development but also key efforts such as MIPI DevCon Seoul to help advance the adoption and enablement of MIPI specifications.

Also honored in memoriam during the ceremony were two individuals who made indelible contributions to MIPI Alliance:

• Dr. Thomas Marik, co-founder and former CTO of BitifEye Digital Test Solutions GmbH, was a key developer of MIPI testing methodologies and resources, as well as a significant contributor to the evolution and progression of MIPI’s physical layer specifications. Dr. Marik served as BitifEye’s primary MIPI representative from 2008 until his death in 2018.
• Paul Vishny, MIPI Alliance’s founding legal counsel, played an instrumental role in helping to establish and structure the organization for enduring success. For his efforts, Vishny was awarded the MIPI Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016. He passed away in April 2020.

Photos and information about past recipients may be found here: https://www.mipi.org/membership/annual-awards

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About MIPI Alliance

MIPI Alliance (MIPI) develops interface specifications for mobile and mobile-influenced industries. There is at least one MIPI specification in every smartphone manufactured today. Founded in 2003, the organization has over 325 member companies worldwide and 14 active working groups delivering specifications within the mobile ecosystem. Members of the organization include handset manufacturers, device OEMs, software providers, semiconductor companies, application processor developers, IP tool providers, automotive OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, and test and test equipment companies, as well as camera, tablet and laptop manufacturers. For more information, please visit www.mipi.org.

MIPI^®, MIPI I3C^® and MIPI UniPro^® are registered trademarks owned by MIPI Alliance. MIPI C-PHY^SM, CSI-2^SM, MIPI D-PHY^SM, MIPI DSI-2^SM and MIPI I3C Basic^SM are service marks of MIPI Alliance.