University of Massachusetts Amherst alumna and Qualcomm executive, Roberto Padovani, will speak on cellular communications in the Campus Center on Thursday Oct. 2.

The talk is the ninth annual Tang Lecture presented by the College of Engineering, aimed to bring engineering-based company members to campus for a chance to interact with students and faculty.

Padovani’s talk, titled “Cellular Communication: What a Ride!” will draw from his experience as a leader at Qualcomm. He received the Innovators in Telecommunications award in 2004 from the San Diego Telecom Council and the Executive of the Year award in 2006 from the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California – San Diego. He has also received a laureate degree from the University of Padova, Italy and his M.S. and Ph.D. from UMass.

Padovani is also an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers fellow and currently an adjunct professor in the electrical and computer engineering department at the University of California – San Diego.