Andrea Goldsmith

Andrea Goldsmith has transformed the way the world communicates, enhancing the technology that makes modern tentpoles like Wi-Fi, video streaming, and widespread cellular networks possible.

As the holder of 38 patents, Goldsmith is both an inventor and entrepreneurial leader. She is best known for developing Adaptive Beamforming for Multi-Antenna Wi-Fi, which improved how we connect to wireless networks. In 2005, she co-founded Quantenna Communications to enable video streaming over home Wi-Fi, which was revolutionary for the time. Later, she co-founded Plume, a home Wi-Fi system optimized by AI. 

Her pioneering work in wireless communications and contribution to the Internet of Things has led to national recognition. In 2020, she became the first woman to receive the Marconi Prize, an annual award for innovators in communication technology, and in 2024 she was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

Throughout her career, she has been dedicated to diversity in engineering, and founded the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Committee on Diversity and Inclusion. She is currently the dean of engineering at Princeton University and the Harris Professor Emerita at Stanford University. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering Math, and a MS and PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.