Bell Labs Scientists Receive Accolades for Research Accomplishments and Leadership in Science and Technology.

Business Editors

MURRAY HILL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 7, 2003

Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU)

-- Former Bell Labs chairman and president wins prestigious

lifetime achievement award from the Marconi Foundation 

-- Three scientists to be inducted into the National Academy of

Engineering in October

William Baker, former president of Bell Labs, the research and development arm of Lucent Technologies (NYSE: LU), was given a lifetime achievement award today by the Marconi International Fellowship Foundation at Columbia University for his technological vision and his role as "a diplomat of science." This is the second time in its history that the foundation has given a lifetime achievement award; the previous winner was Claude Shannon, who developed information theory while working at Bell Labs in the late 1940s.

In addition to Baker's award, other scientists from Bell Labs have recently received coveted honors that include induction into the National Academy of Engineering as well as top honors from the Optical Society of America, the International Society for Optical Engineering and the American Statistical Association. The scientists were cited for fundamental research across a broad range of disciplines -- including fiber optics, statistics, physics, computer science and mathematics - as well as technology leadership and vision.

William Baker: True visionary

Baker was president of Bell Labs from 1973 to 1979 and oversaw the development of the world's first fiber optic communications system. Also, during his tenure, Bell Labs scientists developed the C programming language and won two Nobel Prizes in Physics.

Baker had joined Bell Labs in 1939 as a polymer chemist. From 1955 to 1973, he was vice president of research, with overall responsibility for all Bell Labs research programs. He retired in 1980 as chairman of Bell Labs, the only individual to have ever been bestowed with this honorary title.

"We are proud that the Marconi Foundation has chosen to honor Bill Baker with a lifetime achievement award," said William O'Shea, president of Bell Labs and Lucent's executive vice president of corporate strategy and marketing and its chief technical officer. "Bill is a true visionary, whose leadership inspired and motivated thousands of Bell Labs researchers to continually push forward the boundaries of knowledge. His contributions can be seen in every major technology, from optical networking to computer operating systems, that emerged out of Bell Labs during his tenure."

Bell Labs legacy of leadership continues today

In addition to Baker, other Bell Labs scientists and research leaders who have recently been selected for coveted honors include:

-- Rod Alferness, senior vice president of optical networking

research at Bell Labs, was elected a member of the National

Academy of Engineering. Alferness was honored for his

contributions to modern optical communications systems.

-- Debasis Mitra, vice president of mathematical sciences

research at Bell Labs, was elected a member of the National

Academy of Engineering. Mitra was honored for his

contributions to the modeling, analysis and design of

communication networks.

-- Victor Lawrence, vice president of advanced communications

technology at Bell Labs, was elected a member of the National

Academy of Engineering. Lawrence was honored for his

contributions to data communications.

-- Cherry Murray, senior vice president of physical sciences and

wireless networking research at Bell Labs, was named one of

"The 50 Most Important Women in Science" by Discover Magazine.

-- Elsa Reichmanis, director of materials research at Bell Labs,

was elected president of the American Chemical Society for

2003, a role that she has been serving in addition to her Bell

Labs responsibilities.

-- Andrew Chraplyvy, director of light wave systems research at

Bell Labs, was awarded the Optical Society of America's 2003

John Tyndall Award. Chraplyvy was honored for contributions to

the development of high-capacity optical fiber communications

systems.

-- Wim Sweldens, vice president of computing sciences research at

Bell Labs, received the 2003 Wavelet Pioneer Award from the

International Society for Optical Engineering for co-inventing

next-generation wavelets with former Bell Labs researcher

Ingrid Daubechies.

-- Researchers Scott Vander Wiel and Steven Golowich of Bell Labs

won the Outstanding Statistical Application Prize from the

American Statistical Association, along with former Bell Labs

researcher James Landwehr, for their work on modeling

bandwidth in optical fiber communications.

-- Researcher Simon Borst of Bell Labs won the best paper award

at this year's INFOCOM conference, organized by the Institute

of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, for developing an

analytical mathematical model of the performance of algorithms

that determine the best allocation of bandwidth in sending

data over wireless networks.

"These and a long list of other honors are a testimony of the continuing excellence of research at Bell Labs," said Jeff Jaffe, president of Bell Labs Research and Advanced Technologies. "Our scientists continue to make major breakthroughs in science and technology, while providing our industry with ongoing visionary leadership."

A complete list of recent awards given to Bell Labs scientists is available at http://www.bell-labs.com/about/recognition.

Bell Labs is the leading source of new communications technologies. It has generated more than 30,000 patents since 1925 and has played a pivotal role in inventing or perfecting key communications technologies, including transistors, digital networking and signal processing, lasers and fiber-optic communications systems, communications satellites, cellular telephony, electronic switching of calls, touch-tone dialing, and modems. Bell Labs scientists have received six Nobel Prizes in Physics, nine National Medals of Science and seven National Medals of Technology. For more information about Bell Labs, visit its Web site at http://www.bell-labs.com.

Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N.J., USA, designs and delivers networks for the world's largest communications service providers. Backed by Bell Labs research and development, Lucent relies on its strengths in mobility, optical, data and voice networking technologies as well as software and services to develop next-generation networks. The company's systems, services and software are designed to help customers quickly deploy and better manage their networks and create new, revenue-generating services that help businesses and consumers. For more information on Lucent Technologies, visit its Web site at http://www.lucent.com.