Marconi Society

The Guglielmo Marconi International Fellowship Foundation, briefly called Marconi Foundation and currently known as The Marconi Society, was established by Gioia Marconi Braga in 1974^[1] to commemorate the centennial of the birth (April 24, 1874) of her father Guglielmo Marconi). The Marconi International Fellowship Council was established to honor significant contributions in science and technology, awarding the Marconi Prize and an annual $100,000 grant to a living scientist who has made advances in communication technology that benefits mankind.

In describing the mission and objective of the Foundation, Braga characterized the Fellowship as "unique ... in that it does not reward a person for intellectual achievements alone, but seeks to recognize and sustain those spiritual aspirations that a creative thinker may wish to apply to the establishment of a better world in which to live."

Although Braga died in July 1996,^[2] the Marconi Society has continued to award the annual Marconi Prize and fellowship, which were first awarded in 1975. The Marconi Society also grants annual Marconi Society-Paul Baran Young Scholar Awards to young scientists who, by the time they turn 27, have made significant contributions in the fields of communication and information science.

Originally, the Foundation was located at the Aspen Institute. In 1997, it relocated, by invitation, to Columbia University's Fu School of Engineering and Applied Science.

References

1. ^ At The Marconi Society website, click on "Fellows" and go to the bottom of the page. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
2. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/17/nyregion/gioia-braga-80-promoter-of-italian-culture.html

External links

• The Marconi Society website