November 4–6, 2026
San Francisco, California
The 2026 Marconi Awards Gala & Institute Forums brings together the brightest minds in technology, from pioneering researchers and global executives to policymakers, academics, and innovators, for an unparalleled convergence of ideas, dialogue, and impact.
This year’s expanded program unifies the Marconi Society’s three Institutes—Advanced Wireless, Internet Resilience, Artificial Intelligence—into a Cross-Sector Institute Forum, uniting all three tracks around our shared themes: Trust & Safety, Infrastructure & Energy, and Internet Resilience.
The convening culminates with the Marconi Awards Gala, honoring Robert Calderbank, the 2026 Marconi Prize recipient, alongside the Institute Awardees and the next class of Paul Baran Young Scholars.
REGISTRATION OPENS SOON
Honorees
Join us for the Marconi Awards Gala as we honor innovators in the field of information and communications technology. The Gala gathers visionaries, innovators, and industry thought leaders to celebrate remarkable industry achievements.
2026 Marconi Prize
Recipient
Recognized for contributions to the theory and practice of voiceband modems, space-time coding, and quantum error correction.
Marconi Society
Lifetime Achievement Award
Recognized for a sustained commitment to using technology and education in service of others.
Paul Baran Young Scholars
To be announced this summer.
Ruth Gebremedhin
Thomas Micallef
Yidong Ren
Raghav Subbaraman
Institute Awards
To be announced this summer.
Institute Forums
Three Insitutes. One Global Conversation.
Each Marconi Society Institute leads a Forum focused on the most pressing challenges in its field — and connects with the others on the cross-cutting themes that define our future. All Forums and discussions center on three interconnected themes:
Trust & Safety
Infrastructure & Energy
Internet Resilience
2026 THEMES
All Forums and discussions center on three interconnected themes that define how modern communications systems are built, sustained, and trusted at scale.
Schedule of Events
Wednesday, November 4
00:00 AM
Welcome Reception
An excellent opportunity to connect with fellow attendees, speakers, and sponsors in a relaxed, convivial setting before the Forum programming begins.
Thursday, November 5
8:00 AM
Registration
9:00 AM
Opening Remarks & Forum Welcome
9:15 AM
Opening Keynotes
Featuring high-profile voices across Advanced Wireless, AI, and Internet Resilience
10:35 – 10:50 AM
Networking Break
11:30am – 1:30 PM
Networking Luncheon
11:45 AM – 2:00 PM
Internet Resilience Experts Forum
By invitation and application only
1:30 PM
Wireless Industry Keynote
2:15 PM
AI Industry Keynote
3:30 – 3:50 PM
Networking Break
5:00 PM
Marconi Fellow Keynote
5:30 PM
Closing Remarks
6:30 PM
Networking Reception
Friday, November 6
8:00 AM
Registration
9:00 AM
Welcome Remarks
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
AI Executive Forum
By invitation only
9:05 AM
2026 Marconi Fellow Fireside Chat
A one-on-one conversation with this year’s Marconi Fellow Prize recipient, Robert Calderbank
10:25 – 10:45 AM
Networking Break
10:45 AM
Young Scholars Panel
Hear directly from the 2026 Young Scholar Prize recipients as they discuss forward-looking perspectives on technology’s most pressing challenges
11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Advanced Wireless Executive Forum
By invitation only
11:45 AM – 1:00 PM
Closing Remarks & Networking Luncheon
5:30 PM
VIP Reception
6:00 PM
Welcome Reception
7:00 PM
Awards Gala & Dinner
FEatured Programming
A handful of conversations across the three days that bring together the people, ideas, and questions that will define the field for years to come.
ADVANCED WIRELESS Executive FORUM
The Advanced Wireless Forum brings together leaders across the wireless ecosystem to address the evolution of wireless infrastructure. Participants explore how emerging technologies, spectrum strategies, and deployment models can enable scalable, efficient, and globally accessible connectivity.
INTERNET RESILIENCE Expert FORUM
The Internet Resilience Forum convenes global leaders across infrastructure, cloud, energy, and policy to address systemic vulnerabilities in the Internet’s operational environment. The Forum focuses on advancing resilience through coordination, transparency, and long-term ecosystem alignment.
AI EXECUTIVE
FORUM
The AI Executive Forum brings together senior executives and decision-makers to explore AI’s role in shaping global systems, infrastructure, and leadership. The Forum connects technical innovation with real-world application, policy, and business strategy.
A Conversation with Robert Calderbank
FIRESIDE CHAT
The 2026 Marconi Prize recipient on the arc of his work — from voiceband modems to quantum error correction.
YOUNG SCHOLARS PANEL
PANEL
The next class of Paul Baran Young Scholars present the research they believe will shape the next decade.
DEANS & WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
PANEL
Engineering deans on building the talent pipeline for the infrastructure transformation ahead.
Accommodations
Forum Voices
Andrea Goldsmith
President
Stony Brook University
Daddy Mukadi
Chief Regulatory Officer Africa
Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) B.V.
Rob Soni
VP of RAN Technology
AT&T
Yago Tenorio
SVP and CTO
Verizon
Peter Vetter
President of Bell Labs Core Research
Nokia
Fiona Alexander
Co-Founder
Salt Point Strategies
Vint Cerf
VP, Chief Internet Evangelist
Google
John Crain
CTO
ICANN
Ram Mohan
Chief Strategy Officer
Identity Digital
Paul Vixie
Deputy CISO
Amazon Web Services
Kevin R. Bolen
Principal, Advisory – Head of AI Transformation, Strategy and Investments
KPMG LLP
Annie Cheng
VP of Engineering
Waymo
Mischa Dohler
VP, Emerging Technologies
Ericsson
Gillian R. Hayes
Vice Provost
UCI
Durga Malladi
SVP & GM, Technology Planning & Edge Solutions
Qualcomm
Danijela Cabric
Professor
UCLA
Syed Jafar
Professor
UCI
Joseph Kakande
Network Engineer
Meta
Nick McKeown
Senior Fellow
Intel
2025 Marconi Prize Recipient
Kathleen A. Kramer
2025 IEEE President & CEO
Sponsorship Opportunities
Support the Marconi Society’s mission and align your organization with one of the field’s most respected convenings in information and communications technology.
The Marconi Awards Gala and Institute Forums offer opportunities to engage with leaders across AI, wireless, Internet resilience, academia, and industry.
Sponsors
The Marconi Society is grateful to the following organizations for their generous support of the 2026 Marconi Awards & Institute Forums:
Contact our team for more information:
