MENLO PARK, CA, Jun 04, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Ricoh Innovations, Inc. ("RII"), a Silicon Valley-based subsidiary of Ricoh Company, Ltd., which develops innovative technologies and new business opportunities for Ricoh, today announced that its president and CEO Dr. Nikhil Balram will be recognized by the Society for Information Display (SID) with a 2012 Fellow Award for outstanding contributions to the display industry. Dr. Balram will receive the award at a banquet held this evening during Display Week, SID's annual International Symposium, Seminar and Exhibition, running June 3-8, 2012 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.
The SID Fellow Award honors individuals who have made a widely recognized and significant contribution in advancing display innovation. Dr. Balram is receiving the award for his pioneering contributions in the fields of video and image processing, integrating signal processing, visual perception and semiconductor architectures.
"Dr. Balram is the embodiment of excellence in both business and research, providing strong leadership in developing innovative technologies and new business opportunities for Ricoh Innovations," said Hiroshi Kobayashi, corporate executive vice president of Ricoh Company and chairman of the board of RII. "He brings to the table a unique set of skills and drive to help Ricoh make The Infinite Network a reality -- a seamlessly connected world of people, objects and information. We are proud of his most recent accomplishment in earning this distinguished award."
Dr. Balram has held key positions at several technology companies in his career spanning over 20 years. Prior to joining Ricoh Innovations, he was vice president and general manager of the digital entertainment business unit at Marvell Semiconductor, and chief technology officer of the displays group at National Semiconductor Corporation. Dr. Balram previously served as executive vice president and general manager of the consumer products group at Sage, and as vice president of advanced technology at Faroudja Laboratories.
Throughout his career, Dr. Balram has built international teams that developed award-winning technologies adopted by many leading consumer electronics companies around the world, and created well-known technology branding such as "DCDi by Faroudja" and "QDEO by Marvell."
"Dr. Balram has a deep and broad understanding of video signal processing," stated Professor Martin Banks, head of the Vision Science program and the Banks-Schor Lab at the University of California, Berkeley. "He also knows how to bring great products to market, and when and how to draw on the resources other people provide."
Dr. Balram is a visiting professor of vision science at the University of California, Berkeley, a guest professor at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Gandhinagar, India, and sits on the Industry Advisory Board (IAB) at the School of Engineering at Santa Clara University. He has written more than 30 technical publications, and has over 60 U.S. and foreign patents granted or pending.
"Dr. Balram is a highly respected figure in both academia and industry, and this award is a well-deserved recognition of his outstanding work in video and display technologies," stated Dr. Pradeep Khosla, Dean of the College of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and Chancellor-designate of the University of California, San Diego. "Since graduating at the top of his electrical engineering class at Carnegie Mellon University, he has gone on to play an instrumental role in bringing excellent-quality video and images to the consumer. We applaud his cutting-edge innovations and congratulate him on this honor."
Dr. Balram received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University, where he has also served on the Dean's Leadership Council, Silicon Valley Advisory Council, and Admissions Council.
About Ricoh Innovations Based in California's Silicon Valley, Ricoh Innovations, Inc. ("RII") develops innovative technologies and new business opportunities for Ricoh Company, Ltd., RII was founded in 1997 as a subsidiary of Ricoh, growing out of the California Research Center established in 1989. RII is home to world-class technologists with a broad set of competencies in areas such as intelligent sensors, computational optics, mobile visual communication and cloud-based collaboration. Completing the team are experienced ethnographers with deep insights into user and customer experience, and creative designers with a fundamental understanding of user interfaces and industrial design. RII's focus is to realize The Infinite Network -- RII's vision of a seamlessly connected world of people, objects and information. To learn more about Ricoh Innovations, Inc., visit http://rii.ricoh.com .
About Ricoh Ricoh is a global technology company specializing in office imaging equipment, production print solutions, document management systems and IT services. Headquartered in Tokyo, Ricoh Group operates in more than 200 countries and regions. In the financial year ending March 2012, Ricoh Group had worldwide sales of 1,903 billion yen (approx. 23 billion USD).
The majority of the company's revenue comes from products, solutions and services that improve the interaction between people and information. Ricoh also produces award-winning digital cameras and specialized industrial products. It is known for the quality of its technology, the exceptional standard of its customer service and sustainability initiatives.
Under its corporate tagline, "imagine. change." Ricoh helps companies transform the way they work and harness the collective imagination of their employees. For further information, please visit www.ricoh.com/about/
About SID Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the Society for Information Display (SID) is the only professional organization focused on the display industry. By exclusively focusing on the advancement of electronic-display technology, SID provides a unique platform for industry collaboration, communication and training in all related technologies while showcasing the industry's best new products. With more than 6,000 members worldwide, the organization's members are professionals in the technical and business disciplines that relate to display research, design, manufacturing, applications, marketing and sales. To promote industry and academic technology development, while also educating consumers on the importance of displays, SID hosts more than 10 conferences a year, including Display Week, which brings industry and academia all under one roof to showcase technology that will shape the future. SID's global headquarters are located at 1475 S. Bascom Ave., Ste. 114, Campbell, Calif. 95008. For more information, visit www.sid.org .
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