Sony’s Luke Fay is Lechner Award Honoree

Posted on June 3, 2015 in ATSC News

Senior Sony Electronics Staff Engineer Luke Fay, the chairman of the S-32 Specialist Group focusing on the ATSC 3.0 physical layer standard and Vice-Chair of TG-3, was named the 2015 Bernard J. Lechner Outstanding Contributor at the 2015 Broadcast TV Conference.

“When I heard my name, I thought really?  Me?  S32 is one of the more controversial specialist groups in ATSC 3.0 efforts, so I was surprised,” Fay said. “The Lechner Award represents people of high caliber, those who rise above arguments and try to find solutions.  Recipients of the award are instrumental in developing ATSC standards, so I am very humbled to receive this honor. I look forward to the physical layer team delivering this part of the revolutionary standard of ATSC 3.0 for all to benefit.”

“Luke Fay’s leadership of the Specialist Group on the ATSC 3.0 Physical Layer has been exemplary,” said ATSC President Mark Richer as the award was announced at the May ATSC conference. “Luke is an excellent engineer with extraordinary leadership skills that are contributing to momentum behind the ATSC 3.0 standard.”

Fluent in Japanese, Fay is a former Field Application Engineer who worked initially with GPS products. He also worked in R&D in digital demodulation, which Fay says “were designs never too far from television-related products. I came full circle in a way: starting with TV receivers and coming back to define the future of television.” A member of the IEEE, Fay holds both Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Electrical Engineering.

The Lechner Award is bestowed annually to an individual representative of the ATSC’s membership whose technical and leadership contributions to the ATSC have been invaluable and exemplary. The title of the award recognizes the first recipient in 2000, Bernard Lechner, for his outstanding services to the ATSC. The honoree is selected by the ATSC Board of Directors and presented at the ATSC’s spring meeting. Lechner passed away in 2014 after a long career in TV technology. A list of all winners since the award was created in 2000 can be found on the ATSC.org website.

Posted in ATSC News