Retired ABC senior advisor of science and technology Antoon (Tony) Uyttendaele will be honored with a 2008 NAB Engineering Achievement Award during the National Association of Broadcasters’ annual technology luncheon at the 2008 NAB Show in Las Vegas, to be held Wednesday, April 16.
Uyttendaele played a crucial role in HDTV’s development by working with major broadcast and consumer-equipment manufacturers to create hardware compatible with ABC’s preferred 720-line-progressive (720p) format. His efforts contributed to the final adoption of 720p by the International Telecommunications Union, the NAB noted.
He also developed and managed the completion of ABC's C-band satellite network distribution system and for a number of years served as international chairman of the ITU-Radiocommunication Sector Working Party on Satellite News Gathering, which developed numerous recommendations on uniform standards and operating procedures to make SNG practical worldwide.
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Thomas Silliman, president of antenna manufacturer Electronics Research (ERI), will also be presented with a 2008 NAB Engineering Achievement Award during the luncheon, which is sponsored by Samsung.
Silliman began his career as a consultant in engineering firm Silliman & Silliman before developing a design for the patented ROTOTILLER antenna in the 1970s. This circularly polarized FM-broadcast antenna rapidly became a popular choice for FM stations in the United States and, since then, Silliman has been a consistent innovator in antenna engineering in the broadcast industry, the NAB said.
National Public Radio science correspondent and award-winning TV journalist Ira Flatow will keynote the event.
