John H. Davis, PhD. 1938-2006
Nov 20th, 2006 by jim
One of the gentlest giants of information and communications technology was John Davis. A leading scientist and executive at AT&T Bell Laboratories, John was a pioneer of digital networks and mobile communications. Dr. Davis began his career at Bell Labs and spent 35 years in numerous positions, culminating in his role as Chief Technology Officer of AT&T Communications Services.
John represented a generation of scientists who were nurtured within the Bell System and found ways to serve their country and communities, as well as their company. Born in 1938 in Kentucky, John earned a bachelor’s of science degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology in electrical engineering. Upon graduation he took a job with Bell Laboratories, as well as earned a master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, also in the field of electrical engineering.
Within Bell Labs and AT&T, John participated in numerous telecommunications innovations, including creating the technology development process that is used to introduce new technology into the AT&T Global Network, spearheading the marketing and management of research and development performed by AT&T for the Federal Government, including military and intelligence systems and special government telecom networks. In the 1970’s he conceived the architecture of the Bell System’s major digital switching system (the “5ESS”), and shaped its development. In the 1980’s he led the commercialization and installation of AT&T’s first cellular systems in the United States.
Following his career at Bell Labs he became an advisor on technology and strategy, as well as an entrepreneur. Each new wave of technology brought new delights. John was a founder and Principal of the Technology Advisors Group, working with investors, boards and management teams of high tech companies. He was CTO of Allied Riser Communications, a broadband IP-based communications provider. He served as a Principal at GeoPartners Research consulting to senior executives of Fortune 50 companies. He was a member of several boards of directors, including Novatel Wireless, Inc. (Nasdaq:NVTL).
John authored numerous technical publications and was granted several patents. He was elected Fellow of the IEEE in recognition of his leadership in digital switching and was elected Fellow of the Radio Club of America for his pioneering work in wireless communication.
John was gracious, radiating the warmth and soft accent of his Kentucky roots. He was a large man whose calming presence was sought out in tandem with his technical expertise. In his later years he increasingly devoted himself to the cause of young companies and young entrepreneurs. He served on the Board of Overseers of the engineering school of the University of Pennsylvania. He was a natural teacher and guide. Until he became ill, he was working on a plan to form a new technology strategy firm with a mission to educate young technologists. He often reflected that many of his most satisfying experiences were working in teams with the youngest of contributors. He took particular joy in the physics lessons he was able to share with his grandson.
John was an active volunteer fireman and Emergency Medical Technician in his New Jersey township for 35 years. He counted as his closest friends his fellow firemen and EMTs. When his current illness reached a critical stage a few weeks ago, it was these friends who scrambled the local ambulance to race John up the Garden State Parkway to help. It was these same fellow volunteers who brought him home from the hospital this past Friday.
John was devoted to and is survived by his wife Beverly, son Rob, and his daughter Christina, as well as his grandson. His family was with him when he died Sunday evening.
Jim Moore, Monday, November 20, 2006
John’s daughter Christie wrote this Saturday:
..the Fair Haven First Aid Squad brought dad home yesterday and inaugurated the new ambulance to get him. It will go on the “run log” as the ambulance’s first run–to bring my beloved father homeward bound. He was so proud of that and he stared out the back of the ambulance as we broke every law in the book–they flashed the sirens in the rush-hour of the Garden State Parkway and created a fourth lane for my father. And, by chance, we passed by the two streets on which he spent most of his life in Fair Haven, and he nodded as I said their names and smiled….