Dr. Giorgio Coraluppi, 88, President and Founder of Chorus Call, Compunetix, and Compunetics, passed away peacefully on September 28th, surrounded by family and loved ones.
Dr. Coraluppi founded Compunetics and its affiliates in 1968 and had held the position of President and CEO ever since. Dr. Coraluppi was a brilliant engineer, a mathematician, and an inventor, who was recently recognized for inventing the modern conference call.
Born in L’Aquila, Italy, in 1934, he pursued his studies in Milano where he received the Doctorate in Electrical Engineering from the Politecnico di Milano in 1958. Prior to Compunetics, Dr. Coraluppi joined the Electronic Research Laboratory at Olivetti in 1961, where he worked in circuit development and in numerical control of machine tools. In 1964 Dr. Coraluppi joined the Space-Defense Division of the American Optical Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he headed up projects for a special purpose digital computer controlling the NASA-Lewis Flight Simulator, and design and project engineering responsibility for a satellite attitude simulator now installed at NASA-Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California.
Compunetics, was founded in 1968 and, six months after inception, they had their first customer, the U.S. Navy followed shortly afterwards by NASA. What set Compunetics apart was Dr. Coraluppi’s seminal “Compunetics Switching Network” invention. It made it possible for thousands of people, in this case engineers, technicians and astronauts, to join one call. It was all done digitally and automatically by a computer chip. This invention led to Compunetics’ technology being sought after across multiple industries.
At this point, Dr. Coraluppi’s success as a business owner had earned him regional, state, and national recognition. After much success, Compunetics spun off two affiliate corporations, Compunetix as a product subsidiary and Chorus Call, as a local conferencing service provider.
Dr. Coraluppi received many patents and professional awards over the years, including the Pittsburgh Technology Council CEO of the Year Award in 2013 and induction into the Space Technology Hall of Fame in 2020. The Giorgio Coraluppi Headship in Electrical and Computer Engineering was established at Carnegie Mellon University in 2022.
“On behalf of Chorus Call, I would like to express our appreciation for the immeasurable contributions Giorgio Coraluppi has made to our company, the communities in which we serve, and countless industry organizations he helped found,” commented Michael Hockenberry, Vice President of Chorus Call. “In his 54 years at the helm of Compunetix, Chorus Call, and Compunetics, Dr. Coraluppi built a diversified organization that provides jobs to over 600 employees in Pennsylvania and numerous other countries around the globe. He was a man of honor and integrity, and his Chorus Call/Compunetix/Compunetics family will miss him greatly. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, family and his many friends.”
Dr. Coraluppi’s life had a profound impact on the world and on the Pittsburgh technology community, through his many inventions and advancements in technological communications.
