Turkish Professor Erdal Arıkan, one of the remarkable inventors of the 5G technology
It was a great source of pride for Turkey when it was announced that the Chinese company Huawei utilized Professor Erdal Arıkan’s Polar Coding method in their work on 5G technology amidst the fierce technological race between the United States and China.
In July 2018, Huawei revealed that they used the Polar Coding method developed by a Turkish scientist, Professor Erdal Arıkan, in their 5G technology. This announcement solidified the significant achievement of Professor Erdal Arıkan, a faculty member of the Electrical and Electronics Engineering Department.
During the award ceremony, Huawei’s Founder, Ren Zhengfei, presented Professor Erdal Arıkan with a gold plaque inscribed with “Father of Polar Coding.” Prior to this award, Professor Erdal Arıkan had also received many prestigious national and international awards. These include the 2010 IEEE Information Theory Society Paper Award, the 2013 IEEE W.R.G. Baker Award, the 2017 IEEE Turkey Section Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2018, two of IEEE’s most prestigious awards: the Hamming Medal and the IEEE Information Theory Society Shannon Award.
In its July 2018 issue, American Forbes Magazine reported on the technological competition over 5G, stating that there was a significant race between the United States and China regarding 5G technology and that the critical technology held by Huawei had been developed by a Turkish professor.
The revolutionary innovations brought by 5G technology in the field of communication will enable the establishment of smart homes and smart cities by providing inter-device communication, far beyond just enhancing mobile phone capabilities.
This is how Turkey nurtures such great talents, whom we should always remember with love and great appreciation.
