Irwin M. Jacobs

Irwin Mark Jacobs (born October 18, 1933) is an American electrical engineer and entrepreneur best known as the co-founder of Qualcomm Incorporated, a company that developed code-division multiple access (CDMA) technology fundamental to modern cellular networks. Jacobs earned a B.S. in electrical engineering from Cornell University in 1956, followed by an S.M. in 1957 and Sc.D. in 1959 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where his doctoral work focused on communication theory. After early roles at MITRE Corporation and Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, he joined UC San Diego as a professor of electrical engineering in 1966, contributing to digital signal processing and error-correcting codes. In 1985, Jacobs co-founded Qualcomm with Andrew Viterbi and others, initially developing satellite-based communications before pivoting to CDMA, a spread-spectrum technique that enabled efficient spectrum use and higher data rates in mobile telephony, underpinning 3G and later standards. As CEO until 2005, he led the firm's growth into semiconductors and wireless infrastructure, amassing a fortune he has since directed toward philanthropy, including major gifts to UC San Diego for health and science initiatives alongside his wife Joan. Jacobs has received the National Medal of Technology and other honors for advancing wireless innovation.

Irwin Mark Jacobs was born on October 18, 1933, in New Bedford, Massachusetts, to a Jewish family of modest means. His parents owned a small restaurant, and the family resided at 220 Mount Pleasant Street during his early childhood, a period encompassing the Great Depression and World War II.

Jacobs attended Mount Pleasant Street School and New Bedford High School, where he excelled in mathematics and science. From the fifth grade onward, he worked various jobs, including as a grocery-store clerk, lifeguard, photo developer, lumberjack, and at his grandfather's Boston Beef Company meat market, instilling in him an early appreciation for hard work amid limited resources. His upbringing included Jewish traditions, such as a Bar Mitzvah at the Israel Synagogue on Sixth Street, and hobbies like photography—where he converted a coal bin into a darkroom—and collecting war surplus materials; he also participated in Boy Scouts and frequented local libraries, trolleys, and beaches.