Jerome Swartz

Jerome Swartz is an accomplished electrical engineer and alumnus of the New York University Tandon School of Engineering, previously the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn. He received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1963 and a master's degree in 1969 from the institution, along with a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Polytechnic University, supported by National Science Foundation and Ford Foundation fellowships. Swartz taught electrical engineering courses at City College of New York and at Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, where he held a professorial position during the early stages of his career. His research focused on electro-optics, laser systems, and optical design, with applications in barcode scanning technologies.

In 1970, Swartz co-invented the world's first handheld laser barcode scanner with Shelley Harrison, a breakthrough patented through their subsequent venture, Symbol Technologies, Inc., co-founded in 1973. As President, Chairman, and Chief Scientist until 2003, he led the company to prominence in mobile data capture, resulting in over 180 U.S. patents credited to him and more than 30 published papers. Symbol Technologies received the National Medal of Technology in 1999. Swartz's contributions earned him election to the National Academy of Engineering in 2000 for pioneering barcode technologies, including laser scanners and wireless data capture systems. He was honored with the IEEE Ernst Weber Engineering Leadership Recognition in 1998, holds IEEE Fellow status, and received NYU Tandon's Sesquicentennial Medal in 2005. In 1994, he founded and chairs The Swartz Foundation for Computational Neuroscience, funding research centers at institutions such as New York University, Princeton University, and the California Institute of Technology, including the annual Swartz Prize for Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience. His innovations have profoundly influenced supply chain management, retail, and interdisciplinary neuroscience research.