The Radio Club of America has announced both its annual award recipients and its incoming class of 2024 fellows. Through these awards, RCA has recognized individuals for their contributions to the wireless communications industry since 1935. This year, 13 awards will be presented while eight RCA members will be elevated to fellow status.
The recipients and fellows will be honored at the 2024 RCA Awards Banquet at Westin Times Square in New York City on Nov. 23.
Founded in 1909, the Radio Club of America is a 501(c)(3) organization comprised of wireless communications professionals. According to the club, its award winners are those who have dedicated significant time and talent toward the advancement of the wireless industry. Nominations are accepted from anyone in the field.
Past award recipients include Edwin Armstrong, Martin Cooper, Jay Kitchen and Fred Link, among others.
Find RCA’s list of 2024 award recipients and fellows below, as well as RCA’s own definition of each award.
2024 Award Recipients
Dr. Goutam Chattopadhyay, Armstrong Medal
This award is given to a person who has demonstrated excellence and made lasting contributions to the arts and sciences of radio.
Dr. Chattopadhyay is a senior scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and an award-winning expert in microwave, millimeter-wave and terahertz technologies with over 375 publications and numerous prestigious accolades, including the NASA-JPL People Leadership Award in 2023.
René Albert Stiegler III (K4EDX) (posthumously), Barry Goldwater Amateur Radio Award
This award is given in recognition of unique contributions to the field of amateur radio.
Stiegler was an electrical engineer and radio personality, known for founding mobile communication companies, serving as chief engineer of WABB(FM) and leading the Maritime Mobile Service Net.
Tucker Dunham (KD2JPM), Carole Perry Young Professional Award
This award was established to honor a young professional who was part of the RCA Youth Activities Program and has gone on to a career in wireless science.
Dunham won RCA’s Young Achiever Award in 2018 and is currently studying microelectronic engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology with advancements in amateur radio digirepeaters for emergency applications to his credit.
Dr. Nathan “Chip” Cohen (W1YW), Dr. Arno Penzias Award for Contributions to Basic Research in the Radio Sciences
This award recognizes significant contributions to basic research involving RF and related subjects to inspire future generations of scientific professionals.
Dr. Cohen is a physicist, radio astronomer and CEO of Fractal Antenna Systems, known for pioneering fractal antennas and metamaterials with over 100 technical papers, 93 patents and numerous accolades to his credit, including the RCA DeForest and Grebe Awards.
Dr. James Breakall (WA3FET), Dr. Ulrich Rohde Award for Innovation in Applied Radio Science and Engineering
This award recognizes significant contributions to innovation in applied radio science and engineering in the wireless industry to inspire future generations of wireless professionals.
Dr. Breakall is a professor emeritus of electrical engineering at Penn State, renowned for his work in numerical electromagnetics and antenna design, including contributions to the Numerical Electromagnetics Code, the HAARP facility and the popular Skyhawk Yagi antenna. He has more than 45 years of experience and is distinguished as an RCA Life Fellow.
Stanley Reubenstein (WA6RNU), Edgar F. Johnson Pioneer Citation
This award recognizes long-time RCA members who have either made noteworthy contributions to the success of the club or to the radio industry.
Reubenstein is a retired manufacturer’s representative and former president of RCA with a career spanning sales, marketing and leadership roles in the communications industry. He is recognized with numerous awards, including the Barry Goldwater Award and the E.F. Johnson Award.
Ross Merlin, Jay Kitchen Leadership Award
This award recognizes an individual with a high level of success leading a wireless association, government agency or commercial enterprise.
Merlin is a retired U.S. federal government expert in emergency communications interoperability, known for creating the National Interoperability Field Operations Guide and managing programs like FEMA’s FNARS and the SHARES HF radio program.
Professor Dr. Morimi Awama, Lee de Forest Award
This award is presented to an individual who has made significant contributions to the advancement of radio communications.
Dr. Awama, a former executive at AT&T Bell Laboratories, has a long publication record in technical journals and studies for the U.S. Department of Defense and played an important role in developing emerging communication technologies, including contributions to the Telstar Project.
Dr. Robert Wilson, Lifetime Achievement Award
Through this award, the RCA Board of Directors recognize an individual’s body of work accomplished over a lifetime toward the art and science of wireless technology.
Dr. Wilson, as a physicist and radio astronomer, contributed to radio astronomy at Caltech and Bell Laboratories. He earned the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics with his colleague Arno Penzias for their 1964 cosmic microwave radiation discovery.
Mike Molnar, Ralph Batcher Award
This award is presented to an RCA member for their significant work in preserving the history of radio and electronic communications.
Molnar has been designing gamma cameras for veterinary diagnostics since 1984, while researching and writing about radio history, earning him the AWA’s Robert Murray Award in 2021.
Charles Kirmuss, RCA President’s Award
The RCA President uses this award to select an individual who has demonstrated dedication to the work of the club.
Kirmuss has contributed advancements to digital video, audio recording and first responder-aiding GPS technology. His company, Kirmuss Audio, is recognized as uniquely capable of producing a process and machine that cleans and restores recording grooves.
Alan Spindel (AG4WK), RCA Special Services Award
This award recognizes a club member who has performed significant work to advance its goals and objectives.
Spindel is the senior electrical engineer at Global HF and has over 20 years of telecom experience developing digital HF radio modems and automating large-scale HF radio systems.
Evelyn Torres-Gomez, Wireless Innovation Award
This award recognizes an individual who is creating a new concept or product that is currently in use in the wireless industry.
Torres-Gomez is the founder and CEO of Solaris Technologies Services — an award-winning telecommunications manufacturing company known for high-capacity mobile tower solutions — with multiple patents to her credit.
Mario A. Vulcano, USN Captain George P McGinnis Memorial Award
This award recognizes service and dedication to the advancement and preservation of U.S. Naval Cryptology, as nominated by the U.S. Naval Cryptologic Veterans Association.
Vulcano served 22 years in the U.S. Navy as a cryptologist and instructor, followed by a civilian career teaching cryptologic warfare, receiving numerous military and civilian awards.
2024 RCA Fellows
Elevation to fellow is made by invitation to members who are in good standing for at least five years, in recognition of their contributions to the art and science of radio communications, broadcast or to RCA.
The following RCA members are elevated to fellow status in 2024:
Michael Kalter (W8CI)
Kalter has experience as president and COO of Behm Quartz Industries and is an avid supporter of amateur radio. He led the restructuring of the Dayton Hamvention.
Becky Neugent
Neugent, a public-safety professional since 1997, has overseen the installation of public safety radio dispatch systems and served in various leadership roles within APCO International, including her current role as the 911 Director for Autauga County, Ala. She was named the 88th President of APCO International in August 2023.
Stephen Nichols
Nichols is the executive director of the Project 25 (P25) Technology Interest Group with over 30 years of experience in land mobile and public safety radio. He led business development for Thales Defense and Security’s P25 product lines and earned the RCA’s Edgar F. Johnson Pioneer Citation.
Howard Rosen (VE2AED)
Rosen is a self-taught inventor and entrepreneur with over 83 patents, including the first video compact disk and various innovations in electronics, RF technology and medical systems.
Dr. Julio Urbina
Dr. Urbina is a full professor of electrical engineering at Penn State specializing in radar design, radio wave remote sensing and space instrumentation. He was selected as a Fulbright Scholar for 2024-25.
Read detailed biographies of the 2024 RCA Awards Recipients and Fellows Class.
