Xiaoxia Zhang is one of Qualcomm’s most prolific inventors whose work enables technologies we use every day, from calling friends and family to streaming video on our smartphones. She is now a Senior Director of Technology (Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.) and leads industrial IoT development, shared/unlicensed spectrum, and RAN disaggregation on 5G technology development.

Vanitha Kumar—Senior Vice President of Software Engineering (Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.) —has 25 years of experience in the wireless telecommunications industry and is passionate about the future of technology. Her professional mission pushes the envelope on seamless mobile user experiences, and she is an inventor on over 200 patents in the US and abroad.

Stephen Edge—Principal Engineer (Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.) —hails from England where he specialized in packet switching networks and ran simulations on the early TCP/IP protocol for ARPANET, the predecessor of the internet. Now with Qualcomm since 2005, he invents technological foundations for location services and coordinates standardization efforts for 5G satellite communications.

Lin Lu—Vice President of Technology (Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.) —is a key inventor behind Qualcomm® Smart Transmit™, a breakthrough technology that optimizes uplink speed and coverage for 5G. Her tech utilizes advanced techniques to intelligently manage device transmit power across multiple antenna groups (2G to 5g, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth) to help unlock 5G's true potential.

Ananth Kandhadai—Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. Senior Director of Engineering in Multimedia Research and Development—is a pioneer in speech coding, image processing, computer vision, deep learning, vision hardware acceleration, power-constrained system design, and AR/VR system solutions. Currently, he leads a group of R&D engineers focused on computer vision and camera systems.

Dr. Tingfang Ji's—VP, Engineering, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.—invention of scalable numerology is pivotal to helping make 5G work with a wide range of devices, not just phones. Thanks to Tingfang's work, 5G can connect countless new devices that were previously unconnected, setting the stage for our hyperconnected future.

Conducting business and education during the COVID-19 pandemic without video conferencing seems unimaginable. Luckily, we have Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. innovator and our Vice President of Technology Dr. Marta Karczewicz, a foundational pioneer of video compression. Marta's work makes things like streaming TV, video chatting, and even video sharing possible.

Wi-Fi is one of the most critical inventions of the modern day. Meet Dr. Simone Merlin, Engineer, Principal/Mgr at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and a master of blazing-fast Wi-Fi. Through his innovations in the Wi-Fi medium access control (MAC) layer and his pioneering work in Mesh Networks, Simone has helped make Wi-Fi faster and more reliable, despite an ever-growing number of connected devices.

Not many people can say their name is on over 300 patents and wire communication application technologies that help 5G operate efficiently and effectively, but then again not many people are like Dr. Lola Awoniyi-Oteri, Engineer, Principal/Manager, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. Thanks to Lola's innovations in mobility management and power efficiency, users can experience the benefits of 5G without sacrificing battery life. Battery life varies significantly with settings, usage, and other factors.