Education
Okumura studied electrical engineering at Kanazawa Technical College (金沢工業専門学校 Kanazawa kōgyō sermon gakkō, former the faculty of engineering of Kanazawa University) from 1944 to 1947.
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Yoshihisa Okumura
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His radio survey of signal strength as a function of distance as measured in drive tests in automobiles was critical to the system planning of mobile radio telephone systems Doctor Okumura began his professional career in 1950 with Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, now privatised), where he collected radio propagation data in the 150 to 1920 MHz bands. These bands were later identified as appropriate for mobile phone systems (in no small part, because of the data collected by Okumura).
Okumura"s careful study in various topographical environments in metropolitan, suburban, rural and even mountainous regions at distances from 1 to 100 km was published in 1968.
His 10-year survey included varying the height of the antennas from ground level to 10 meters which helps in planning radio coverage of mobile phone cell towers. Okumura"s work was advanced in the International Radio Consultative Conference (Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de région) which recognized that this work was applicable to all countries contemplating mobile cellular phone systems
The curves he published have become known as the Okumura Model and were critical to identifying the 800 MHz band as an appropriate target for mobile phone operation. About 1970, Okumura was promoted to the directorship of the Mobile System Research Section of the Electrical Communication Laboratory (ECL) of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone. His staff grew to about 20 individuals, who pioneered the early high capacity cellular phone systems
Okumura retired from the ECL in 1975 and joined Toshiba.
In 1979 he became a professor in Kanazawa Institute of Technology, retiring in 2000 as professor emeritus.
Achievements
Awards
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Charles Stark Draper Prize (2013) with Joel South. Engel, Martin Cooper, Thomas Haug and Richard H. Frenkiel
The National Academy of Engineering annually awards the Charles Stark Draper Prize, which is given for the advancement of engineering and the education of the public about engineering.The National Academy of Engineering annually awards the Charles Stark Draper Prize, which is given for the advancement of engineering and the education of the public about engineering.