Wireless Telecommunications Leader to Deliver UMaine Distinguished Presidential Lecture

Dr. Rajendra Singh, a University of Maine graduate and leader in wireless telecommunications, will deliver the 2013 University of Maine Distinguished Presidential Lecture on Oct. 30 at 2 p.m. in Arthur St. John Hill Auditorium in the Engineering Science Research Building.

The Distinguished Presidential Lecture Series, which is free and open to the public, provides a forum for highly accomplished individuals with UMaine ties to share personal stories and perspectives on important societal issues of interest to the UMaine community. “My Journey” is the title of Singh’s lecture. He grew up in a rural village in India with no telephones or electricity; today he is internationally recognized as an entrepreneur and venture capitalist.

Singh is the chief executive officer and principal owner of Telecom Ventures, a private investment firm in Florida that has launched wireless service providers around the world. He and his wife, Neera, who have two children, have co-chaired the business since 1994.  Dr. Singh and Neera Singh were instrumental in founding or starting Appex, Inc. (a billing services firm which was sold to EDS system in 1990), Portatel (a cellular operator in Mexico), BPL (a cellular operator in India), Wireless Ventures of Brazil, Avantel (a specialized mobile radio operator in Brazil and Colombia), Infonet (a GSM operator in Venezuela), Teligent (a competitive local exchange carrier), LCC International (a consulting services company), and Mobile Satellite Ventures (a communication services provider in North America). Dr. Singh continues to play a leading role in the development and deployment of emerging wireless technologies.

Singh also serves on the board of trustees at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the board of overseers of the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the board of directors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

In 2012, he received the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations’ Ellis Island Medal of Honor and was inducted into the Wireless Hall of Fame.

In 2006, the Singhs received UMaine’s Stillwater Presidential Award for Achievement. Dr. Singh has also received the Edward Bryand Distinguished Engineering Award from UMaine’s College of Engineering and has been inducted into the Francis Crowe Society Hall of Fame. In 2004, Singh established the Rajendra & Neera Singh Engineering Scholarship Fund at the University of Maine Foundation to provide financial assistance to deserving students in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department.

The avid runner and skier earned an undergraduate degree at Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur, his master’s in electrical engineering at UMaine in 1977, and a doctorate from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

For more information, or to request a disability accommodation, contact Sarah Penley at 207.581.1159 or DevelopmentOfficeRSVP@maine.edu.

 Contact: Beth Staples, 207.581.3777