IEEE Orlando Section History
Origins of the Orlando Section
The beginnings of the Orlando section date back over fifty years. An IRE section was chartered in late spring, 1959, and an AIEE section chartered on Sept. 26, 1960. Records of the initial chairman of the IRE have eluded the editor, as have the names of the AIEE chairman for 1962-63, but for those of you who may be able to fill the missing names, the list on page 5 identifies most of the chairs and award recipients through the years.
The drive for forming the AIEE section was led by R.R. Rowell, Jim Layne, J.O. (Bill) Lucius and A.J. Faron. From its inception, the section included two technical groups. The Power group was led by J.L. Munroe, Vic Gardner, A.J. Faron, K. Canell and Bill Lucius; the Communications group was led by W.E. Hahn, Bill Jamieson and M.C. Loper. There were also a Missile Elecrical Systems-East Coast Group and a Missile Electronics Systems-Central Group, but we have no record of their activities.
In 1963, IRE and AIEE were merged nationally. At the section level, E.O. Houseman, John Tracy and Jim Walter from IRE and Jim Layne, Bob Rowell and Bill Jamieson from AIEE had a series of meetings to form a joint section, the Orlando Section of the IEEE. Just as there was at the national level, the local groups were each unsure whether merger was in the best interest of their membership. However, since the merger, the Orlando section has progressed to the point that much of the Florida Council looks to our section for its leadership and for ideas on maintaining a healthy and active section.
For more information about the Orlando section, visit their homepage. Link to Section Homepage
| Year | Chairmen | ||
| 1959-60 | N/A | ||
| 1960-61 | IRE Al Gray | AIEE Robert R. Rowell | |
| 1961-62 | IRE Bob Matzinger | AIEE Robert R. Rowell | |
| 1962 | IRE W.L. Arbuckle | ||
| 1963 | IRE Wes Eddy | ||
| 1963-64 | IEEE Ernest Houseman | ||
| 1964-65 | IEEE Robert R. Rowell | ||
| 1965-66 | Bill Jamieson | ||
| 1966-67 | Jim Walter | ||
| 1967-68 | John Tracey | ||
| 1968-69 | J.W. Dees | ||
| 1969-70 | M.J. Taylor | Engineer of the Year | Outstanding Service Award |
| 1970-71 | Joe Pullara | ||
| 1971-72 | Jim Gay | Bruce Matthews | |
| 1972-73 | E.V. Dashiell | Tom Bayston | |
| 1973-74 | Karl Lohman | John Boynton | John Tracey |
| 1974-75 | J.C. Wiltse | Ed McCarter | Joe Pullara |
| 1975-76 | H.E. Downing | Dick Harden | Joe Pullara |
| 1976-77 | Ed McCarter | George McClure | Russ Theisen |
| 1977-78 | BIll Rhoden | Herb Towle | Bill Cran |
| 1978-79 | Russ Theisen | Russ Theisen | George McClure |
| 1979-80 | Ernie Erickson | Ben Patz | Bill Rhoden |
| 1980-81 | George McClure | Don Mendorf | Mannie Connell |
| 1981-82 | Ben Patz | Ernie Erickson | |
| 1982-83 | Mannie Connell | Dave Flinchbaugh | Joe Massett |
| 1983-84 | Ed Ellis | Don Malocha | |
| 1984-85 | Frank Fluet |
Life Members in the Orlando Section
As of September 15, 1984, the Orlando Section of IEEE has 69 Life Members. The breakdown under various categories is as follows:
Life Fellows = 6
Life Senior Members = 33
Life Members = 29
Life Associates = 1
Life membership is granted retired members of IEEE if the sum of their age and years of membership equals or exceeds 100. These qualifications automatically imply that in our life members we have a great wealth of history, of experience, and of interesting stories. We attempted to gather information from as many of these 69 members as could be reached.
Some of these Life Members have provided us a brief write up of their major professional accomplishments and contributions. We have summarized these here for general interest.
Roberts L. Batts, Sr. Designed the first successful mobile police radio. It was built for the Detroit Police Department and was first on the air April 7, 1928. Mr. Batts’ first major career was with the Indianapolis Police and Fire Communication (22 years) and his second major career was with Motorola (21 years).
George W. Baughman 44 years with Union Switch and Signal and its parent company Westinghouse Air Brake. He placed in service (commercially), the copper oxide rectifier for automatic train control (1925), has 110 U.S. patents and foreign patents and had been very active in IEEE Pittsburgh section and on various IEEE boards and committees. He received Elmer A. Sperry award in 1971 and B.G. Lamme Gold Medal from Ohio State University in 1978. A working model of one of his systems for Remote Control of Railway Signals is at the Smithsonian Institute. Mr. Baughman’s professional carrier included assignments as Chief Engineer of Union Switch and Signal and as Vice President of Westinghouse Air Brake.
Homer R. Denius Co-founder of Radiation Inc. in Melbourne, FL in 1950, which sold to Harris in 1967 when there was were 4500 employees with over 1000 engineers. Mr. Denius led to the founding of the First National Bank of Melbourne in 1958 and was instrumental in establishing Florida Instrument of Technology, In 1960l he established Denius Foundation which supported FIT and charitable and medical organizations. He continues to enjoy riding, hunting, and fishing, and has participated in many ocean races as a sailor and navigator.
John L. Glauber Through IRE meetings in New York, he met such celebrities as Thomas Edison, Lee de Forest, Edwin Armsttrong, Louis Hazeltine, etc. Mr. Glauber has been active in amateur radio since 1921.
Hamilton Powell Technical activities in the area of high voltage power systems including design and manufacture of outdoor stations, power circuit breakers, current limiting power fuses and control systems. Since retirement, he has been involved in designing and installation of electrical systems for mission work around the world. He keeps up-to-date in the power area through IEEE magazines.
James O. Pease Actively served IEEE Washington Section of AIEE heading various committees and section chairs for about 25 years while he was first the manager of the Washington D.C. office and later Division Vice-President of Utility Division of Rumsey Electric Co. of Philadelphia. He retired in the early 1970s, moving to Winter Park in 1977.
Archival Documents
IEEE Geographic Unit Organizing Document - Orlando
Orlando Section Notes, Volume XX, Number 2, October 1984, Centennial Special Edition
