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Communication is very important to Farrokh Khatibi. As a pioneer in digital communications and director of engineering for wireless giant QUALCOMM, the three-time Case graduate owes his livelihood to it.
Khatibi joined QUALCOMM in 1990 and began to make his mark immediately. He and his colleagues were the first to develop Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology for use on a commercial level. Khatibi was one of the pioneers to use packet technology to enable a more efficient cellular communications infrastructure. Commercial use of CDMA and the successful application of packet technology were vital in the rapid development of cellular communications and wireless technology over the last decade.
While cellular communication is obviously important to Khatibi, he attributes much of his success to the interpersonal communication he had with various mentors while earning B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees (all in electrical engineering and applied physics) from Case. In addition to the School of Medicine's Ronald Cechner, who taught him karate, Khatibi cites two engineering faculty members - Harry Mergler and Yoh-han Pao - with having the biggest impact on his development.
While some of the technical training these two legends imbued him with may have faded over 20 years, the overall message hasn't. "Much of the specifics are gone, but the big picture remains," he says. "Their determination, their calmness under pressure, their thoughtfulness when approaching a challenge; those are the kinds of things that have stuck with me all the way through my life."
Khatibi believes the type of mentoring he received at Case is unique to top engineering schools. "I'm sure I could have found great professors at another school," he says. "But I doubt I would have had the one-on-one relationships with them that helped me develop as a complete person."
Mergler, himself a Case graduate and a faculty member for more than 30 years, is now retired and splits his time between homes in Cleveland and Florida. Pao remains an active emeritus professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) and remembers well his protégé's time on campus.
"There was a very exciting atmosphere on campus at the time," Pao recalls. "We were combining the old – applied physics and mathematics - with the new - micro processing and digital electronics – and creating whole new areas of research."
Pao also has a vivid recollection of what drew him to Khatibi and vice versa. "He needed to work on the highest, most difficult challenges. There was an urgency and a constant drive to succeed. I think that's what drew him to Harry and me - we felt the same way about our work."
Farrokh Khatibi left the Case campus in 1990, but one-to-one mentoring relationships remain a vital part of the Case experience.
"Our faculty take the time to really work with the students," says Mehran Mehregany, Goodrich Professor of Innovation and chair of EECS. "They are interested in a student's academic development, of course. But, they also encourage the student to grow on a personal and professional level. As a result, I think the student-faculty relationships established at Case tend to stick with both parties well beyond four years of college."
Matthew Crowley, a student in EECS, agrees with Mehregany's assessment. "Even though I just finished my freshman year, I've already had many opportunities to work and socialize side-by-side with my professors," Crowley says. "I don't feel like they're just teaching me. I feel like they are truly interested in my success."
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