Theodore (Ted) S. Rappaport is the William and Bettye Nowlin Chair in Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and is the founding director of the Wireless Networking and Communications Group (WNCG) at the university's Austin campus, a center he founded in 2002. Prior to joining UT Austin, he was on the electrical and computer engineering faculty of Virginia Tech where he founded the Mobile and Portable Radio Research Group (MPRG), one of the world's first university research and teaching centers dedicated to the wireless communications field.

Dr. Rappaport has been a pioneer in the fields of radio wave propagation, wireless communication system design, and 60 GHz/millimeter wave communications, and his work has influenced many international wireless standard bodies. Rappaport has served on the Technological Advisory Council of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and has conducted research for NSF, DoD, and dozens of global wireless communications companies throughout his career. He is one of the world's most highly cited authors in the wireless field, having authored or co-authored over 200 technical papers, over 100 US and international patents, and several best-selling books.

In 2006, Dr. Rappaport was elected to serve on the Board of Governors of the IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc), and he was elected to the Board of Governors of the IEEE Vehicular Technology Society (VTS) in 2008. Also in 2008, he received the Industry Leadership award from the Austin Wireless Alliance and the IEEE Communications Society WTC Recognition Award for outstanding achievements and contributions in the area of wireless communications systems and networks. In 1999, his pioneering work on site-specific RF propagation and system design received the IEEE Communications Society Stephen O. Rice Prize Paper Award. In 1989, he founded TSR Technologies, Inc., a cellular radio/PCS software radio manufacturer that he sold in 1993 to what is now CommScope, Inc. (NYSE: CTV). In 1995, he founded Wireless Valley Communications Inc., a site-specific wireless network design and management firm that he sold in 2005 to Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT).

Rappaport has testified before the US Congress, has served as an international consultant for the ITU, has consulted for over 30 major telecommunications firms, and works on many national committees pertaining to communications research and technology policy. He is a highly sought-after consultant and technical expert, and serves on boards of several high-tech companies. As a faculty member, Rappaport has advised over 100 students who continue to accomplish great things in the communications, electromagnetics and circuit design fields throughout industry, academia, and government. When he is not teaching or doing research with students, he enjoys long-distance running, amateur radio (N9NB), singing, and traveling. He received B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Purdue University in 1982, 1984, and 1987, respectively, and is an Outstanding Electrical Engineering Alumnus from his alma mater.