I never knew that Dr. Bernardo Huberman was Andrew Huberman’s father. Ever since I began listening to Andrew’s podcast, I always wondered if he was related given the unique last name.
Years ago, while developing a novel wireless broadband product, my team faced a critical challenge. The system we were building relied on a patented wireless ATM protocol (802.6), and we needed to optimize the utilization of bi-directional bandwidth between the master transceiver — connected to the internet source — and the client transceiver. Our question was deceptively simple: what’s the most efficient way to balance up and down traffic dynamically?
It was a tall order. Traditional static allocation wouldn’t cut it; we needed a more fluid, adaptive approach.
At the time, I had read about Dr. Bernardo Huberman, a brilliant researcher and fellow at Xerox PARC, who had studied traffic flow on the German Autobahn. What he discovered fascinated me: the faster-moving cars were filling gaps and making the most efficient use of the lanes. By moving fluidly, they kept the system flowing — creating space for everyone else.
Intrigued, I reached out to Dr. Huberman. It was a brief but impactful conversation. He confirmed that his findings could, in theory, translate to data traffic. His research — published in Optimizing Traffic Flow — revealed methods for improving efficiency by managing traffic dynamics, drawing analogies between physical highways and digital networks. (Read the full research here)
Inspired by his insights, we began to rethink our channel allocation. Instead of fixed lanes, we allowed “speedier packets” — the data with higher priority or urgency — to dynamically take the open lane. This approach made our asynchronous channels more adaptable, more efficient, and, frankly, faster.
With this insight, we developed a high-speed wireless radio system that wasn’t just effective — it was novel. Western Digital took notice and acquired it for a handsome sum. It was a win that stemmed, quite literally, from the Autobahn.
And Dr. Bernardo Huberman? I always found his name as fascinating as his mind — Bernardo, distinctly Argentinian, and Huberman, unmistakably German. Quite fitting, given it was the Autobahn that paved the way for our wireless success.
Short conversation, big impact. I like to imagine that if I sent Dr. Huberman a note today, it would simply say: “Check’s in the mail, Bernardo!”
(Find Andrew Huberman’s full interview with his father here on YouTube.)