Our working group and committee members make Bluetooth technology the best it can be.
Working groups have been the driving force behind Bluetooth® technology, delivering innovations that help make the Internet of Things (IoT) a reality.
Every year, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) celebrates the hard work and commitment of working groups, committee members, and contributors who have been recognized by their peers as making a difference in advancing Bluetooth technology. Thank you to the winners, and to all of our working group and committee members, for their dedication and contribution this year.
2020 Winners
See what this year’s award winners had to say during the Virtual Member Awards Program.
Outstanding New Technical Contributor
Pouria Zand
Principal System Engineer
Cypress Semiconductor Corporation
Core Working Group
A principal system engineer at Cypress Semiconductor Corporation (an Infineon Technologies AG), Pouria made key contributions to positioning and location features currently in development within the Core Specification Working Group (CSWG) and the Direction Finding Working Group (DFWG). Pouria had also contributed to CSWG and DFWG on positioning and location features before joining Cypress, as a senior scientist in imec-NL.
Piergiuseppe Di Marco
Research Consultant
Silvair, Inc.
Mesh Working Group
A research consultant for Bluetooth mesh solutions at Silvair, Inc. since 2019 and, previously, a senior researcher at Ericsson AB, Piergiuseppe has been an active contributor in the Bluetooth SIG Mesh Working Group and editor of many features of the Bluetooth mesh networking specifications. His major contributions have been in the proposal and development of improved message forwarding procedures for mesh nodes and protocol enhancements to enable additional bearers in Bluetooth mesh.
Outstanding Technical Contributor
Andrew Estrada
Senior Manager, Systems Engineering
Sony Corporation
Audio, Telephony, and Automotive Working Group
After joining Silicon Wave (a new startup) as a systems engineer in 1998, Andrew participated in the development of Bluetooth technology and became an active member of the Bluetooth SIG. In 2003, he joined Sony Electronics and contributed to many Bluetooth projects, including gaming systems, 3D TV, and consumer audio. In the Bluetooth SIG, he has served as vice-chair and chair of the 3D Glasses Working Group and, more recently, as chair of the Audio, Telephony, and Automotive (ATA) Working Group. He has also served in leadership positions in other standards bodies, including IEEE, Wi-Fi, and ECMA.
Jori Rintahaka
Senior Software Engineer
Silicon Laboratories
Mesh Working Group
Starting his career in 2008 as a summer intern for a Bluetooth module vendor, Bluegiga Technologies, Jori quickly advanced into a full-time role as a Bluetooth firmware developer. After Bluegiga Technologies was acquired by Silicon Laboratories in 2015, Jori transitioned into a role with a larger emphasis on specification development. In 2016, he joined the Mesh Working Group where Jori has been one of the drivers of key feature updates to mesh model specifications. He has also lent his support in situations where future Mesh Working Group and Core Working Group goals intersect.
Tomas Motos
Group Manager, Digital Signal Processing
Texas Instruments Incorporated
Core Working Group
A senior member of the technical staff at Texas Instruments, Tomas started actively collaborating in the Core Specification Working Group in 2013. Since then, he has been mostly focusing on the physical layers of communication for Bluetooth Low Energy, and his contributions were the basis for most of the LE 2M and LE Coded technologies that appeared in version 5.0 of the Bluetooth Core Specification. Tomas is currently serving as the editor for one of the next-generation features that will appear in future versions of the specification.
Chris Church
Senior Staff Engineer
Qualcomm Technologies International, Ltd.
Generic Audio Working Group
A senior staff engineer within the standards and technology team at Qualcomm Technologies International, Ltd. (QTIL), Chris has worked with Bluetooth standards since 2007. As a contributor and then chair of the Human Interface Device (HID) Working Group, Chris led the design of the HID over GATT (HOGP) profile and related Human Interface Device Service Specification (HIDS), Device Information Service Specification (DIS), Battery Service Specification (BAS), Scan Parameters Service Specification (ScPS), and Scan Parameters Profile Specification (ScPP) specifications, for which he was voted the Bluetooth SIG Outstanding Technical Contributor in 2012.
Over the years, Chris has provided technical contributions to various Bluetooth specifications, most recently as editor of the Bluetooth LE Audio specifications. Chris has held multiple chair and vice-chair positions with Bluetooth SIG working groups and committees, such as the Audio, Telephony, and Automotive Working Group; the Discovery of Things Working Group; the Regulatory Committee; and the Human Interface Device Working Group. He also provides oversight for Qualcomm’s Bluetooth qualification program in Cambridge, UK where he is based.
Piotr Winiarczyk
Wireless Solutions Architect
Silvair, Inc.
Mesh Working Group
A wireless solutions architect with 16 years of experience working in telecommunication and software industries, Piotr works for Silvair, Inc. and specializes in Bluetooth mesh technology development for commercial lighting systems. Piotr enjoys solving complex problems and then optimizing solutions to make them simpler.
Bluetooth SIG appreciation – Working Group Contributor
Asbjørn Saebø
Principal 2, LE Audio development
Nordic Semiconductor ASA
Generic Audio Working Group
Asbjørn is an engineer, developer, project leader, and researcher with years of experience working with Bluetooth technology, audio, acoustics, electronics, and firmware. He joined Nordic Semiconductor ASA in 2006 and started participating in the specification and development of what would eventually become Bluetooth Low Energy. Later, as the project leader for Nordic’s Bluetooth Low Energy protocol stack firmware, Asbjørn was responsible for the development and delivery of 150 releases of that firmware stack for various Nordic devices. Currently, Asbjørn is actively participating in the development of Bluetooth LE Audio, representing Nordic Semiconductor ASA in the Generic Audio Working Group and other groups. He is also doing architecture, design, and implementation work for Nordic’s audio solutions.
Past Winners
2019
| Recipient Name | Member Company | Category | Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mayank Batra | Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. | Working Group/Committee Chair of the Year | Core Specification Working Group |
| Szymon Slupik | Silvair, Inc. | Working Group/Committee Chair of the Year | Mesh Working Group |
| Mesh Working Group | n/a | Working Group of the Year | Mesh Working Group |
| Danilo Blasi | STMicroelectronics | Outstanding Technical Contributor of the Year | Mesh Working Group |
| Kanji Kerai | Sivantos GmbH | Outstanding Technical Contributor of the Year | Core Specification Working Group |
| Ravi Bamidi | Silvair, Inc. | Outstanding New Contributor in Bluetooth SIG Groups | Mesh Working Group |
| Robert Hughes | Intel Corporation | Chairman’s Award | n/a |
2018
| Recipient Name | Member Company | Category | Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mayank Batra | Qualcomm | Working Group/Committee Chair of the Year | Core Specification Working Group |
| Mesh Working Group | n/a | Working Group of the Year Award | Mesh Working Group |
| Piotr Winiarczyk | Silvair, Inc. | Outstanding Technical Contributor of the Year Award | Mesh Working Group |
| Himanshu Bhalla | Intel Corporation | Outstanding New Contributor to Bluetooth SIG Groups | Generic Audio Working Group |
| Felix Bootz | F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG | Key Contributor to Reconnection Configuration Profile and Service | Medical Devices Working Group |
| Harald Prinzhorn | F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG | Key Contributor to Insulin Delivery Profile and Service | Medical Devices Working Group |
2017
| Recipient Name | Member Company | Category | Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Redding | Qualcomm | For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Bluetooth Core Specification 5 & Core Specification Supplement 7 | Core Specification Working Group |
| Clive Feather | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Bluetooth Core Specification 5 & Core Specification Supplement 7, For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Bluetooth Core Specification Addendum 6 and For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Errata Service Release 10 | Core Specification Working Group |
| Gerard Harbers | Xicato Inc. | Outstanding New Contributor in Bluetooth SIG Groups and For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Mesh Device Properties 1.0 | Mesh Working Group |
| Guillaume Schatz | EM MICROELECTRONIC MARIN SA | For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Fitness Machine Profile and Service | Sports & Fitness Working Group |
| Joel Linsky | Qualcomm | For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Bluetooth Core Specification Addendum 6 and For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Bluetooth Core Specification 5 & Core Specification Supplement 7 | Core Specification Working Group |
| Leif-Alexandre Aschehoug | Nordic Semiconductor ASA | For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Fitness Machine Profile and Service and For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of GATT Specification Supplement | Sports & Fitness Working Group |
| Michael Ungstrup | Widex A/S | Outstanding New Contributor in Bluetooth SIG Groups | Hearing Aid Working Group |
| Olivia Bellamou-Huet | Assystem | For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Message Access Profile 1.4 | Audio, Telephony, and Automotive Working Group |
| Piotr Winiarczyk | Silvair, Inc. | For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Mesh Profile Specification 1.0 and For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Mesh Model Specification 1.0 | Mesh Working Group and Architectural Review Board |
| Robert Hughes | Intel Corporation | For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Mesh Profile Specification 1.0 | Mesh Working Group |
| Robin Heydon | Qualcomm | For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Mesh Profile Specification 1.0 and For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Mesh Device Properties 1.0 | Mesh Working Group and Architectural Review Board |
| Szymon Slupik | Silvair, Inc. | Working Group/Committee Chair of the Year, Working Group of the Year Award, Outstanding Technical Contributor of the Year Award and For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Mesh Model Specification 1.0 | Mesh Working Group |
| Tomas Motos | Texas Instruments Incorporated | For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Bluetooth Core Specification 5 & Core Specification Supplement 7 | Core Specification Working Group |
2016
| Recipient Name | Member Company | Category | Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mesh Working Group (Szymon and Bob) | Working Group of the Year | Mesh Working Group | |
| Robert Hughes | Intel Corporation | Working Group/Committee Chair of the Year | Mesh Working Group |
| Brian Redding | Qualcomm | Outstanding Technical Contributor of the Year | Core Specification Working Group |
| Szymon Slupik | Seed Labs Inc. | Outstanding Technical Contributor of the Year | Mesh Working Group |
| Olivia Bellamou-Huet | Berner & Mattner Systemtechnik GmbH | Outstanding New Contributor in Bluetooth SIG Groups | Audio, Telephony and Automotive & Sports and Fitness Working Groups |
| Sam Geeraerts | NXP Semiconductors | Outstanding New Contributor in Bluetooth SIG Groups | Core Specification Working Group |
| Joel Linsky | Qualcomm | For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Core Specification Addendum 5 | Core Specification Working Group |
| Robert Hughes | Intel Corporation | For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Transport Discovery Service | Discovery of Things Working Group |
| Jingu Choi | LG Electronics Inc. | For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Transport Discovery Service | Discovery of Things Working Group |
| Chris Church | Qualcomm | For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Transport Discovery Service | Discovery of Things Working Group |
| Casper Bonde | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Message Access Profile 1.3 | Audio, Telephony and Automotive Working Group |
| Dominik Sollfrank | Berner & Mattner Systemtechnik GmbH | For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Message Access Profile 1.3 | Audio, Telephony and Automotive Working Group |
| Guillaume Schatz | Polar Electro Oy | For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Cycling Power Profile & Service 1.1 | Sports and Fitness Working Group |
| Laurence Richardson | Qualcomm | For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Object Transfer Profile & Service | Sports and Fitness Working Group |
| Guillaume Schatz | Polar Electro Oy | For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Object Transfer Profile & Service | Sports and Fitness Working Group |
| Robert Hughes | Intel Corporation | For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Object Transfer Profile & Service | Sports and Fitness Working Group |
| Leif-Alexandre Aschehoug | Nordic Semiconductor ASA | For Outstanding Contributions to the Adoption of Object Transfer Profile & Service | Sports and Fitness Working Group |