Nokia announces 2020 Bell Labs Prize winners
Press Release
Nokia announces 2020 Bell Labs Prize winners
The 2020 Bell Labs Prize awarded to University of Pennsylvania Associate Professor for a groundbreaking system that uses deep neural network optical chips as a platform for artificial intelligence
The optical-based system has the potential to revolutionize neural networks, especially in the field of image and video recognition by achieving orders of magnitude faster processing and at lower power
3 December 2020
Murray Hill, New Jersey - Nokia today held a virtual awards ceremony and announced the winners of the 2020 Bell Labs Prize, a competition that recognizes disruptive innovations that will define the next industrial revolution. Proposals were received from 208 academics in 26 countries, and Firooz Aflatouni, Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering at University of Pennsylvania, received $100,000 for winning the competition with his proposal for Integrated Photonic-mmWave Deep Networks.
The 2020 Bell Labs Prize competition launched in March 2020 and finalists were announced in June 2020. Each finalist was assigned both a leader from the Nokia Bell Labs research team and a research mentor, and they worked together to advance their innovations throughout the year. Proposals were presented in front of a panel of renowned experts and industry leaders who judged the proposals based on a credible proof-of-concept or set of results that validate the innovation's full potential. The judges selected three winners based on the demonstrated disruptive potential of their work:
The first-place prize ($100k) was awarded to Firooz Aflatouni, Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, for his proposal Integrated Photonic-mmWave Deep Networks . Using deep neural network photonic chips as a platform for artificial intelligence, his system has demonstrated that image and video recognition in the optical domain brings a wealth of possibilities for the future. Photonic platforms interpret and recognize images at the speed of light, some six billion times a second, making them significantly faster than today's digital computational platforms. The system is small, all-optical, energy-efficient and low-cost, making it easy to incorporate into a myriad of other solutions such as embedded AI in camera systems.
The second-place prize ($50k) was awarded to Sanjeev Arora, Professor in Computer Science, Princeton University, and his teammates, Yangsibo Huang (Ph.D. student at Princeton University), Kai Li (Professor of Department of Computer Science at Princeton University) and Zhao Song (Postdoc Researcher at Princeton University). Their proposal How to allow deep learning on your data without revealing your data solves a significant problem with the lack of privacy in machine learning tools. Their InstaHide solution is a universal method for encrypting training images that is efficient to apply with only minor impact on model accuracy. This innovative approach will allow the sharing of data to fully leverage the power of machine learning models without sacrificing privacy or compromising security.
The third-place prize ($25k) was awarded to Cheng Qi, Ph.D. student at Georgia Institute of Technology, and his teammates, Francesco Amato (Post-Doctoral Researcher at Tor Vergata University in Rome, Italy) and Gregory Durgin (Professor at Georgia Institute of Technology, GA), for their proposal Hyper RFID: A Revolution for The Future of RFID . Their innovative tags are based on a new type of quantum tunneling radio positioning (QTRP) system that provides highly accurate wireless positioning with an extended RFID coverage range of meters today to more than a kilometer in the future, with low-cost tags with a battery life of up to ten years. These revolutionary capabilities for RFID tags should greatly facilitate the tracking of people and assets or the navigation of autonomous drones and vehicles using drop-and-forget waypoints.
Marcus Weldon, President of Nokia Bell Labs and CTO of Nokia, said, We are on the verge of a new value paradigm of Remote X' enabled by 5G as the critical networking infrastructure that will allow the remote access to, interaction with, and intelligent control of everything, from anywhere. True to the principles of Remote X', this year's Bell Labs Prize award ceremony was held virtually and recognized the most innovative proposals, all of which have the potential to help solve critical remote' problems that are confronting humanity. We are excited to continue working with the winners to help them further develop their ideas and realize their vision.
In addition to their cash prizes, the winners will also be given the opportunity to deepen their collaboration with the world-renowned researchers at Nokia Bell Labs to develop their game-changing innovations further.
Resources
Website: Bell Labs Prize
About Nokia
We create the technology to connect the world. Only Nokia offers a comprehensive portfolio of network equipment, software, services and licensing opportunities across the globe. With our commitment to innovation, driven by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs, we are a leader in the development and deployment of 5G networks.
Our communications service provider customers support more than 6.4 billion subscriptions with our radio networks, and our enterprise customers have deployed over 1,300 industrial networks worldwide. Adhering to the highest ethical standards, we transform how people live, work and communicate. For our latest updates, please visit us online www.nokia.com and follow us on Twitter @nokia.
Media Inquiries:
Nokia
Communications
Phone: +358 10 448 4900
Email: press.services@nokia.com
Share
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
14/06/2026
HBO Comedy Rooster Shot with URSA Cine 17K 65
Brie Clayton June 14, 2026
0 Comments
Large format brings viewers intimately close to characters.
Black...
13/06/2026
Latest expansion pack includes 252 presets
Devious Machines have recently introduced another expansion for their powerful multi-effects plug-in, Infiltrator...
13/06/2026
Create custom DAW/plug-in controllers using prompts
MetaGrid have recently introduced an all-new AI Builder function to their touchscreen-based control surf...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production, Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it has given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what o...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Cross the Boundaries of the Real World into the Spirit Realm i...
Nokia announces 2020 Bell Labs Prize winners 
