Wi-Fi inventor heading to Chile

Valley Life editor

Palmer resident Dr. Alex Hills is leading a "double life" of sorts, and later this month, it's taking him to southern Chile.

For part of the year, Hills lives in Palmer, working on the board of directors at the Palmer Chamber of Commerce. He's your average neighbor you could say. But other parts of the year take him to Pittsburgh, where he has served as the vice provost at Carnegie Mellon University, one of the most prestigious universities in the world.

It was at Carnegie Mellon University in the mid-1990s that Hills invented "Wi-Fi," a high-speed wireless Internet connection that has revolutionized wireless technologies around the world.

Hills is considered one of the leading technology researchers in the world.

"We created 'Wireless Andrew' [the precursor to Wi-Fi] on the campus and it worked really well. As word got out about this technology, the demand grew quickly," Hills said. "We thought it was a great vision. We had this wacky idea that our students could get connected on their laptops at high speeds, no matter where they went. We're becoming increasingly mobile, and once we got the technology worked out, it really took off."

Now, Wi-Fi can be found everywhere -- in office buildings, in airports and even entire communities. Wi-Fi allows a computer user to gain high-speed Internet connections without having to be wired to a phone or DSL line.

"The paper there did a story on Wireless Andrew and there was a picture of a girl sitting in the lawn with her laptop out and a small antennae up," Hills said. "That told the entire story I thought."

Before inventing Wi-Fi, Hills made significant technological advances here in Alaska, where he and his wife have lived since 1970. He spent seven years in the Bush, setting up public radio stations in such places as Nome, Bethel, Dillingham and Barrow.

"There was no public radio, no telephones and no TV to speak of," Hills said. "We pioneered the technology that is being used around the world now. We had quite a few 'firsts' in the Bush."

He said establishing public radio is one of the highlights of his career.

"The whole telecommunications was rapidly changing. Public radio was a real unifying experience for the communities," Hills said. "Communities really took ownership of their radio stations."

During his 34 years as an Alaskan, Hills has also made contributions in several public projects, including helping found the Alaska Science and Technology Foundation, helped found KSKA in Anchorage and he served as the deputy commissioner of administration for Gov. Jay Hammond.

His university work began with the University of Alaska in 1984, where he held numerous positions relating to computing and engineering. In 1992, he joined Carnegie Mellon as a Distinguished Service Professor. There, he helped develop several projects and strategies that have kept Carnegie Mellon on the leading edge of technology.

Hills has traveled around the world, lecturing and helping build technology projects in numerous countries. Later this month, he and his wife, Meg, are headed to Valdivia, Chile, where they will spend six months at La Universidad Austral de Chile. There, Hills is building a wireless network at the university, as well as helping create a new network that will link rural Chilean schools to the Internet.

"For so long, we've been doing these quick trips -- two weeks here, two weeks there -- but this is the first time we're going for an extended period of time," Hills said. "It's pretty satisfying. Internationally, countries place an extremely high value on education. They are very aware of how education elevates their economic value, and they are very welcoming. They are appreciative of what you can teach them."

The trip will also allow his wife to work in her area of expertise. Meg Hills is a nurse practitioner at The Family Health Center in Palmer. While in Chile, she plans to do volunteer medical work.

"We're both very excited," Hills said.