Speaker Bio
Dr. Rajeev Gopal, vice president at Hughes, leads the company’s advanced engineering programs,
developing innovative solutions for resilient and protected communications in defense
applications. Dr. Gopal’s work spans 5G, Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Geostationary Orbit (GEO)
High-Throughput Satellite (HTS) technologies, leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), machine
learning (ML), cloud, and cybersecurity innovations.
In his more than 25 years at Hughes, Dr. Gopal has held a variety of leadership roles in satellite
network systems engineering and software development. Most recently, he has led the growth of
the DoD program portfolio to include private 5G, LEO services, and protected communications;
and productization of network management system and smart network edge software. Prior to
joining Hughes, Dr. Gopal pioneered laboratory automation projects for clinical and cancer
research and development at CTIS for the National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Gopal holds 11 patents and has published more than 40 technical papers. A member of the
IEEE 5G World Forum, he serves on the editorial board of Wiley’s International Journal of Satellite
Communications and Networking (IJSCN). Dr. Gopal earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Computer
Science from Vanderbilt University and a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from
the Birla Institute of Technology & Science.