Neil Siegel

Neil Gilbert Siegel (born February 19, 1954) is an American computer scientist and computer engineer, known for his development of many key systems for the United States military, including the Blue-Force Tracking system, the U.S. Army's first unmanned air vehicle system, and the US Army forward-area air defense system. Several of his inventions also found their way into consumer products, such as hand-held devices (e.g., mobile GPS devices, smartphones, etc.) whose map displays automatically orient themselves to align with the real-world's cardinal points. He also participated in the development of techniques that are now widely-used in healthcare.

Early life and work Siegel was born in Brooklyn, New York, to engineers Bernard Siegel and Judith Love Cohen, and has lived most of his life in the area southwest of Los Angeles. He has two full siblings, Howard and Rachel, and is an older half-brother of actor Jack Black. He attended the University of Southern California, earning degrees in mathematics. During and after this time, he worked as a professional musician, mostly performing on the flute, and also playing folk and art music from the Balkans and the Middle East. Later, he earned a Ph.D. in systems engineering (also from USC), where his Ph.D. advisor was noted computer scientist Barry Boehm.

In 1976, he began work at what was then TRW (acquired by Northrop Grumman in 2002).

Career Starting in 1993, he led an organization at TRW that developed one-of-a-kind automation systems for the US military and (to a lesser extent) commercial companies. This organization achieved significant business success, growing rapidly every year during his tenure as leader (which continued until 2001). They created many new products whose general theme was automation support to decision-makers who operate in complex and stressful environments. In addition to the US Army and the US Air Force, customers during this time included the US steel industry and the movie industry. ) and achieving acceptable dynamics through what he calls "force-structure-aware" networks. He and his team also hold the first patent for having the display screen on a mobile device turn as the device is rotated, and they also hold the first patent for remote security administration of mobile devices that have been lost or stolen.

He has been a pioneer in large-scale deployments of GPS-enabled applications (like the Blue-Force Tracking system). He has also been active in the field of structuring large-scale software developments so as to match the skill distribution encountered in real-world teams.

Since mid-2001, he has been the chief technology officer of TRW's Systems (now Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, and later, Northrop Grumman Information Systems). Prior to his tenure as VP / CTO, he served as VP / general manager of the Tactical Systems Division.

His work during this time has extended his earlier work in military networks, force-structure-aware networks, and large-scale system engineering methodologies. He retired at the end of 2015. He served as a VP and officer of the company for nearly 18 years.

As of 2016, Siegel became the IBM Professor of Engineering Management at USC. In 2021, he also became a Professor of Computer Science Practice; in 2024, he became a Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering Practice with Distinction; and in 2025, he also became a Professor of Computer Science Practice with Distinction. He is also an adjunct professor of engineering at UCLA.

Awards and honors

Siegel has received a number of awards and honors, including:

The U.S. National Medal of Technology and Innovation in 2023. Election to the US National Academy of Engineering in 2005. Election as a fellow of the International Core Academy of Sciences and Humanities in 2026. Election to the member of the National Academy of Artificial Intelligence in 2026.

Selection as an IEEE Fellow (2011). The IEEE Simon Ramo Medal (2011), for systems engineering and systems science. Member (2017) and Fellow (2019), National Academy of Inventors.

US Army Honorable Order of Saint Barbara, 1996. Northern Virginia Technology Council—CTO of the year award (2011) National Medal of Technology and Innovation (2023) Additional awards are listed on his website, https://neilsiegel.usc.edu/awards/.

Consumer electronics, and the first wireless internet Siegel has had a major impact on the design and capabilities of many types of mobile consumer electronics, including smart phones, GPS receivers, and so forth. He is the documented earliest creator of a complete, operating adaptation of the internet to fully-routed wireless operation, and many important / related technologies that are widely used today in such wireless devices, including:

GPS-enabled mobile devices Automatic orientation of a map display to match the geographic cardinal points (US Patent 5,672,840) Optimizing unicast protocols (including TCP) for use on low-bandwidth, wireless networks (US Patent 6,701,375) Performing many security administrative and control tasks remotely (US Patent 7,278,023) Managing and administering a large network of wireless devices (US Patent 6,212,559) Increasing battery life on GPS-enabled devices (US Patent 7,256,731)

Personal life

Siegel is an experienced musician who plays the flute, târ, ney, and kaval who has more than 1,500 concerts to his credit worldwide.

He is the older brother of actor, singer, and comedian Jack Black, with whom he has collaborated on a number of fund-raising events for charity, most notably the pediatric hospice program of the TrinityCare Hospice, based in Torrance, California.

He is on the board of several non-profit organizations, including the Providence Trinity Health Care Hospice Foundation, the Electric Infrastructure Security Council, and The Institute of Persian Performing Arts. Since 2013, he and his wife, Robyn, have operated their own charitable organization, The Siegel and Friend Foundation.