Stephen O. Rice Explained

Stephen Oswald Rice (November 29, 1907 – November 18, 1986) was a pioneer in the related fields of information theory, communications theory, and telecommunications.^{[1] [2]}

Biography

Rice was born in Shedds, Oregon (later renamed Shedd).

He received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Oregon State University and did graduate work at Caltech and at Columbia University. He worked for nearly forty years at Bell Labs.^[3] At Bell Labs, Rice discovered the Rice distribution and Rice's formula. In 1957–58 he was a visiting professor at Harvard University.

His paper “Mathematical Analysis of Random Noise”, published in the Bell System Technical Journal divided over two issues,^{[4] [5]} is considered as a classic reference in its field.^{[1] [2]}

He died in La Jolla, California.

Awards and honors

• He was elected to member of the National Academy of Engineering in 1977.^[6]
• In 1983 he was awarded the IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal.^[7]
• The IEEE Communications Society named a paper prize after him: the Stephen O. Rice Prize for best paper in the field of communications theory.^[8]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Stephen Rice . IEEE Global History Network . . June 25, 2011.
2. Book: Slepian, David . http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=1760&page=299 . Stephen O. Rice . David Slepian . Memorial Tributes: National Academy of Engineering . 4 . 299–304 . . 1991 . 978-0-309-04349-6 . June 25, 2011.
3. http://coe.engr.oregonstate.edu/oregonstater/citation.php?id=139 Stephen Oswald Rice: Oregon Stater Engineering Hall of Fame: College of Engineering – Oregon State University
4. Mathematical Analysis of Random Noise . S.O. . Rice . . 23 . 3 . 282–332 . . 1944 . 10.1002/j.1538-7305.1944.tb00874.x . 1944BSTJ...23..282R . June 26, 2011.
5. Mathematical Analysis of Random Noise . S.O. . Rice . . 24 . 1 . 46–156 . . 1945 . 10.1002/j.1538-7305.1945.tb00453.x . June 26, 2011.
6. Web site: NAE Members Directory - Mr. Stephen O. Rice . . June 25, 2011.
7. Web site: IEEE Alexander Graham Bell Medal Recipients . https://web.archive.org/web/20100619233055/http://ieee.org/documents/bell_rl.pdf . dead . June 19, 2010 . . June 25, 2011.
8. Web site: The Communications Society Stephen O. Rice Prize in the Field of Communications Theory . . January 5, 2011.