Dimitris Anastassiou and Fermi Wang Receive 2026 IEEE Arun N. Netravali Award

Columbia Engineering Professor Dimitris Anastassiou and Columbia University Trustee and Engineering alumnus Feng-Ming (Fermi) Wang MS’89, PhD’91 have received the inaugural 2026 IEEE Arun N. Netravali Video Analytics, Technology, and Systems Award. They were selected “for pioneering contributions to the development and implementation of digital video compression and processing technologies.”

The award recognizes transformative advancements in video technology, AI-powered systems, and analytics that have reshaped global media consumption, broadcasting, and visual communication. It was established this year to honor Arun Netravali, who had served as the ninth president of Bell Laboratories (now Nokia Bell Labs, sponsoring the award) and had been well known for his own outstanding contributions in video technology.

Pioneering contributions to digital video compression

During the early stages of the “digital revolution,” Anastassiou, Charles Batchelor Professor of Electrical Engineering, and Wang, then a PhD student at Columbia Engineering advised by Anastassiou, played a key role in the sector’s move from analog to digital television, including the development of HDTV, which reshaped communication, information sharing and the entertainment industry. Their joint research developed algorithms and co-authored patents that were accepted as essential for the implementation of international standards used in digital television storage, transmission and broadcasting, and in related consumer electronics products such as TVs and recorders.

Most notably, based on Anastassiou's and Wang's research advancements, Columbia University became the only academic institution among nine initial patent holders deemed essential to the MPEG-2 video compression standard, which underpinned the rise of DVD, digital TV, and internet streaming, and their work has been adopted in the AVC/H.264 video standard—still the most commonly used coding method. They collaborated directly with Netravali on a publication and a patent, solidifying their collaborative ties with the award’s namesake.The New York Times interviewed Anastassiou and Netravali in 1989 for an article that ran on the front page, highlighting their prediction that the U.S. will play a leadership role in digital television technology worldwide.

“We are thrilled to see this recognition for Professor Anastassiou and Fermi Wang, a Trustee and one of our most illustrious and supportive alums,” said Shih-Fu Chang, Dean of Columbia Engineering. "Their contributions in the area of digital video compression and processing have made a deep and lasting impact on society. Their research has paved the way for the digital media revolution that has led to many of the platforms we use daily."

Individual achievements and career impact

Anastassiou had started contributing to video technology as early as 1983 when he was working at IBM, where he was a co-developer of one of the earliest videoconferencing systems. After joining Columbia, he worked on a variety of topics of practical significance. In one such case, in 1997, he developed techniques for multi-view coding (MVC) vital for immersive multimedia and virtual reality, leading to a patent also adopted as essential in the corresponding patent pool. He later shifted his focus to a new field, computational systems biology, where he continues to lead groundbreaking work focusing on cancer research. He is a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.

 “It is both an honor and a pleasure to receive this award that has great personal and emotional meaning,” said Anastassiou. “I had known Arun since I was a student at UC Berkeley in the late ’70s and he was working at Bell Labs. I have fond memories from the time I was visiting and working with him in the late ’80s. Additionally, being recognized jointly with Fermi gives me great pride in the thought that his PhD studies with me have contributed to his tremendous success afterwards.”

Wang, drawing on his doctoral research, has continued to lead in the tech industry. When he was working at C-Cube Microsystems, his team developed one of the world’s first MPEG-2 single-chip codec implementing the algorithms of the international standard to which he contributed in his thesis. As of 2004, he is the CEO and co-founder of Ambarella Inc. Under his leadership, Ambarella developed high-definition AVC/H.264 video encoders and products covering a wide range of applications, such as AI-driven vehicle safety and autonomous driving, video security and robotics, used in cars, both professional and consumer security cameras, drones, and more. Ambarella’s innovations merge video compression with deep neural networks, enabling real-time decision-making in devices worldwide. He is the recipient of the 2018 Thomas Egleston Medal for distinguished engineering achievement from Columbia Engineering. He is also a member of the Columbia University Board of Trustees and Columbia Engineering's Board of Visitors. 

“I am deeply honored to receive the IEEE Arun N. Netravali Award alongside my former advisor, Professor Dimitris Anastassiou,” said Wang. “My PhD work with Prof. Anastassiou at Columbia laid the foundation for my career. I appreciate the mentorship and inspiration that supported me from those early steps to pioneering advancements at Ambarella. This award recognizes our collaborative efforts in advancing video technology and emphasizes the lasting significance of collaboration between academia and industry.”

A lasting legacy in technology and society

The duo’s contributions have had massive technical, economic, and societal impact. Their innovations laid the groundwork for how we store, stream, and share video today—from Netflix to smartphones, from telemedicine to virtual reality.

The MPEG-2 and AVC/H.264 standards to which they contributed have enabled video streaming over the Internet and mobile networks, supporting the rise of the global video economy—now worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

By bridging academic research and real-world application, Anastassiou and Wang helped redefine university research culture, proving its value in industry-shaping innovation.

Lead Photo Caption: Netravali Award recipients, Dimitris Anastassiou (left) and Fermi Wang