Professor Erol Gelenbe, an IEEE Fellow and ComSoc member, was awarded the 2017 Mustafa Prize in Information and Communication Sciences and Technology for his pioneering research on “Modeling and Performance Evaluation of Computer Systems.” Prof. Gelenbe invented the random neural network and the eponymous G-networks or Gelenbe Networks as a model for queueing systems.

In a prize ceremony held on 3 December 2017 at Vahdat Hall, the Opera House in Tehran, Prof. Gelenbe received a US$500,000 prize, a certificate, and a special medal.

This is only the second time that the Mustafa Prize was awarded. It was first awarded in 2015 to Taiwanese-Singaporean Jackie Ying and Jordanian-American Omar Yaghi.