It is with great sadness that the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering announces the death of Professor David Daut, who died on Saturday, January 24, 2015.
David G. Daut received the B.S.E.E. from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and the M.S.E.E. and Ph.D. degrees from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He joined Rutgers University in 1980. His teaching and research activities were in the areas of communications and information systems, focusing on data/bandwidth compression techniques in the context of image coding and transmission. He had authored numerous journal and conference papers and was a co-recipient of the 1984 IEEE Communications Society Rice Prize Paper Award. He provide important service to his professional society.He had served as an elected member of the IEEE Board of Directors (Division III) during 1998 and 1999. In 2009 he served as General Co-Chair for the IEEE Sarnoff Symposium, Princeton, NJ. In 2013 he was recognized with the Joseph LoCicero Award for Exemplary Service "for outstanding service and dedication to the IEEE Communications Society as Publications Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Communications." He was member of Sigma Xi, Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu as well as the Association for Computing Machinery, Optical Society of America, and the Society of Photo Optical Instrumentation Engineers.
During his 35 year career at Rutgers, Professor Daut was a valuable contributor to the ECE Department and the University. He served as Director of the ECE Graduate Program (1991-1999) and as Director of the Engineering Computer Center (1989-1998). He served as Chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department twice, from 1986 to 1988 and again from 1997 to 2006.
Dr. Daut was a beloved student advisor and mentor. He has graduated over 15 doctoral students, many of whom followed careers at national universities and research labs. He was also an "awesome" teacher, often receiving perfect marks from the students for the courses that he taught. His classes included a perfect blend of theory and laboratory component, focusing on applications. In the Fall 2014 survey, regarding his "Communications System Design" course, the students commented "This has been the most hands-on course I've taken and it's really helped me learn how to apply the theoretical concepts that we've learned". In response to what should be done differently in the course, the students commented "None, this was an excellent course, my favorite! Thanks!," "Stay the same Prof Daut! Great having u as a professor!", "Stay Awesome Professor".
"I was fortunate to work with Prof. David Daut, a good person and scholar who was very supportive, kind, and friendly towards me. I will never forget what he has done for me. My condolences to his family, and the faculty and students of the ECE Department of Rutgers" said Ozan K. Tonguz, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon, who received his PhD from ECE Rutgers under Dr. Daut's supervision.
Dr. Daut is survived by his wife Panxi Daut, his daughter Cynthia and stepson Ted.
Funeral arrangements can be found on the link below. Please contact the ECE Office (John P. McCarthy, jpm346@ rci.rutgers.edu ) for more information. The following site has been set up for faculty and students to pay tribute to Professor Daut.
http://daviddaut.rutgers.edu
The family suggests memorial contributions be sent to Rutgers University Foundation, Attn. Accounting Department, 120 Albany Street Plaza, Suite 201 New Brunswick, NJ 08901. Checks should be made payable to the Rutgers University Foundation. Please indicate that your gift is in memory of Dr. David G. Daut.