Martin Cooper (inventor)

Martin Cooper, born on December 26, 1928, is an American engineer known for his big ideas in wireless communications. He has eleven patents in this field, showing his important work in helping people talk and connect over long distances without wires.

On April 3, 1973, Cooper made history when he made the first public call using a handheld portable cell phone. He did this while working at Motorola, standing on a sidewalk in Manhattan, and called his friend at a competing company, Bell Labs. This moment was the beginning of the handheld cell phone, which is very different from the phones that were placed in cars. Cooper and his team kept working on this idea, and in 1983, the handheld cell phone became available for people to buy. Because of this, many people call him the "father of the handheld cell phone." In 2015, he received a big award called the IEEE Masaru Ibuka Consumer Electronics Award for his amazing work.

Along with his wife and business partner, Arlene Harris, Cooper helped start many communications companies. He is also the Chairman of a company called Dyna LLC, located in Del Mar, California. Cooper helps guide important groups in the United States, like the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and the United States Department of Commerce. In 2010, he was honored by being elected to the National Academy of Engineering for his leadership in creating and bringing the handheld cellular telephone to the world.

Education

Martin Cooper was born in Chicago to Ukrainian Jewish immigrants. He finished his studies at the Illinois Institute of Technology in 1950. He later worked as a submarine officer during the Korean War.

He returned to school and earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering from IIT in 1957. In 2004, he received a special honorary doctorate degree from the same university. He also helps make important decisions for the university as a member of its board of trustees.

Career

Motorola

Martin Cooper joined Motorola in 1954 and became a senior engineer. He worked on creating new communication tools, including a special radio for the Chicago police in 1967.

In 1973, Cooper led a team that created the first portable mobile phone. This phone, called the DynaTAC 8000x, was heavy and took a long time to charge, but it was an important step in making phones that people could carry everywhere. On April 3, 1973, Cooper made the first public call using this new phone in New York City. This helped change how people made calls, moving from calling places to calling individuals directly.

Cooper worked at Motorola for 29 years, helping to develop many new technologies, including better radios and communication tools.

Cellular Business Systems

Dyna LLC

In 1986, Cooper and his wife started Dyna LLC to support new business projects. From there, they helped launch several companies focused on wireless communication and new technologies.

GreatCall, Inc

Also in 1986, Cooper helped start Cellular Payphone Inc., which led to GreatCall, Inc. GreatCall made simple mobile phones especially for older users.

Arraycomm

In 1992, Cooper co-founded Arraycomm, a company that developed advanced software for mobile antennas. Under his leadership, the company grew to become a leader in this technology area.

Energous.com

Cooper served on the board of directors of Energous.com from 2015 to 2019.

Cooper's law

See also: Spectral efficiency

Martin Cooper saw that we could send more radio messages at the same time in one place as time went on. This started when Guglielmo Marconi sent radio waves in 1895. From this, he made what we call Cooper's Law. This law says that the most voice calls or similar tasks we can do on radio waves in a certain area can double every 30 months.

Publications

Martin Cooper has written many articles about wireless communication. Some of his recent articles are "The Myth of Spectrum Scarcity" from March 2010, and "Mobile WiMax – Fourth-Generation Wireless" from September 2007. He also wrote "The Need for Simplicity" for a book published by Stanford University in 2007.

Other works include "Personal Communications in 2025" for the Eta Kappa Nu Electrical and Computer Engineering Honor Society in 2005, and "Antennas Get Smart" for Scientific American in July 2003. He also wrote "Everyone is Wrong" for Technology Review in June 2001.

Awards and affiliations

Martin Cooper has received many awards for his work. He is a member of Mensa and has been honored with the IEEE Centennial Medal and Fellow in 1984. He also received the Wharton Infosys Business Transformation Award, the Radio Club of America Fred Link Award, and was named one of the Top Ten Entrepreneurs of 2000.

He was inducted into the RCR Wireless News Wireless Hall of Fame and received the American Computer Museum George Stibitz Computer and Communications Pioneer Award. Later, he received the Prince of Asturias Award, joined the National Academy of Engineering, won the Webby Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the Charles Stark Draper Prize. In 2025, he received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.