IEEE Fellow Grade History: Difference between revisions

From ETHW
No edit summary
 
(19 intermediate revisions by 6 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
== History of the Fellow grade in AIEE, IRE, and IEEE  ==
== Establishment and initial Fellows ==


The grade of Fellow first appeared in the [[AIEE History 1884-1963|AIEE]] constitution of 1912. In that year, the AIEE revised its membership structure and established the grade of Fellow for those engineers who had demonstrated outstanding proficiency and had achieved distinction in their profession. Potential Fellows had to be at least thirty-two years of age, with a minimum of ten years experience. When the [[IRE History 1912-1963|IRE]] established its Fellow grade in 1914, the requirements were clearly modeled on those of the AIEE. Much of the wording in the relevant sections of the IRE constitution is identical to the corresponding wording in the AIEE constitution.
The grade of Fellow first appeared in the [[AIEE History 1884-1963|AIEE]] constitution of 1912. In that year, the AIEE revised its membership structure and established the grade of Fellow for those engineers who had demonstrated outstanding proficiency and had achieved distinction in their profession. Potential Fellows had to be at least thirty-two years of age, with a minimum of ten years experience. When the [[IRE History 1912-1963|IRE]] established its Fellow grade in 1914, the requirements were clearly modeled on those of the AIEE. Much of the wording in the relevant sections of the IRE constitution is identical to the corresponding wording in the AIEE constitution.  


For the first several years after the establishment of the Fellow grade, both the AIEE and the IRE allowed Members to make direct application for transfer to Fellow. In both cases, applications had to be accompanied by references from five existing Fellows, and required the approval of the Board of Directors. In 1939, the IRE modified its procedure to make admission or transfer to the Fellow grade possible only by direct invitation of the Board of Directors, a policy it maintained until the merger in 1963. In 1938, the AIEE modified its constitution to provide that "Applications to the grade of Fellow shall result only from a proposal of five Members or Fellows." In 1951, the AIEE prohibited applications for Fellow grade altogether, and adopted a policy of direct invitation similar to that of the IRE.
The first group of 16 AIEE Fellows were elevated to the new grade at the AIEE Board Meeting of 27 June 1912..
 
These fellows were:
 
*[[Ralph Mershon|Ralph D. Mershon]]
*W. G. Carlton
*Maurice Coster
*A. F. Ganz
*[[Walter I. Slichter]]
*Percy H. Thomas
*[[Gano Dunn]]
*Henry Floy
*George Gibbs
*Cary T. Hutchinson
*[[William McClellan]]
*H. St. Clair Putnam
*L. T. Robinson
*George F. Sever
*[[Frank J. Sprague]]
*[[Charles Proteus Steinmetz|Charles Steinmetz]]
 
== AIEE, IRE, and IEEE ==
 
For the first several years after the establishment of the Fellow grade, both the AIEE and the IRE allowed Members to make direct application for transfer to Fellow. In both cases, applications had to be accompanied by references from five existing Fellows, and required the approval of the Board of Directors. In 1939, the IRE modified its procedure to make admission or transfer to the Fellow grade possible only by direct invitation of the Board of Directors, a policy it maintained until the merger in 1963. In 1938, the AIEE modified its constitution to provide that "Applications to the grade of Fellow shall result only from a proposal of five Members or Fellows." In 1951, the AIEE prohibited applications for Fellow grade altogether, and adopted a policy of direct invitation similar to that of the IRE.  


As noted above, numerous electrical engineers were members of both the AIEE and the IRE, and many of these became Fellows of both organizations. [[Formation of IEEE by the Merger of AIEE and IRE|When the two institutes merged in 1963]], all AIEE and IRE Fellows automatically became Fellows of the IEEE. In 1942, the IRE had begun to issue citations to new Fellows, briefly describing their accomplishments. The AIEE followed suit in 1952, and the IEEE continued the practice after the merger.  
As noted above, numerous electrical engineers were members of both the AIEE and the IRE, and many of these became Fellows of both organizations. [[Formation of IEEE by the Merger of AIEE and IRE|When the two institutes merged in 1963]], all AIEE and IRE Fellows automatically became Fellows of the IEEE. In 1942, the IRE had begun to issue citations to new Fellows, briefly describing their accomplishments. The AIEE followed suit in 1952, and the IEEE continued the practice after the merger.  


'''AIEE Honorary Members'''
Today, the Grade of Fellow is conferred by the Board of Directors upon a person with an extraordinary record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest. The total number selected in any one year does not exceed one-tenth of one percent of the total voting Institute membership. Each new Fellow receives a beautifully matted and framed certificate with the name of the Fellow and a brief citation describing the accomplishment, a congratulatory letter from the incoming IEEE president and a gold sterling silver Fellow lapel pin with an antique finish.
 
A list of IEEE Fellows up to 1984 can be found in the publication [[Archives:A Century of Honors: The First One Hundred Years of Award Winners, Honorary Members, Past Presidents, and Fellows of the Institute|A Century of Honors]], and the [http://www.ieee.org/membership_services/membership/fellows/chronology/index.html IEEE Fellows Directory] contains a chronological list going back from the present to 1960, as well as an alphabetical list of current fellows.
 
== Fellows Committee ==
 
[http://www.ieee.org/membership_services/membership/fellows/2010_fellow_committee.html The IEEE Fellows Progam] is overseen by the IEEE Fellows Committee, a standing committee of the IEEE Board of Directors.
 
[[Media:Fellow_comm.pdf|List of Fellow Committee Members, 1963 – present]]


The AIEE established Honorary Membership at its founding in 1884, and first awarded the grade to Sir William Preece that same year. While the AIEE did not initially define the the qualifications for Honorary Membership, the grade was clearly reserved for those with truly great accomplishments. In its first ten years, the honor went to such men as [[Archives:Papers of Cyrus Field|Cyrus Field]] , William Thomson ([[Archives:Papers of Lord Kelvin|Lord Kelvin]]), and Hermann von Hemholz. In 1901, the Institute stipulated in its constitution that Honorary Members were to be chosen "from among those who have rendered acknowledged eminent service to electrical engineering or its allied sciences." In 1957, AIEE broadened the definition by making eligible those who had "rendered meritorious service to mankind in engineering or other allied fields." During the seventy-nine years that the AIEE existed as an independent organization, it elected a total of 49 men as Honorary Members, the last two being [[Philip Sporn|Philip Sporn]] and Allen B. DuMont in 1961.
== Further Reading ==


The first constitution of the Institute of Radio Engineers provided that persons who had "rendered acknowledged eminent service to the art or science of radio transmission" could be elected Honorary Members. The IRE never awarded the grade, however, and all reference to Honorary Members was dropped from its constitution in 1931.
*[[IEEE Honorary Membership History|IEEE Honorary Members]]
*[[IEEE History]]


When the AIEE and IRE merged in 1963, provision for Honorary Members was made in the bylaws of the new Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, but no new Honorary Members were elected until 1981. In that year, the requirements were changed so that only non-IEEE members were elegible


[[Category:IEEE]] [[Category:Prominent_members]]
[[Category:Awards_&_fellow_activities|Fellow]]

Latest revision as of 17:33, 3 March 2020

Establishment and initial Fellows

The grade of Fellow first appeared in the AIEE constitution of 1912. In that year, the AIEE revised its membership structure and established the grade of Fellow for those engineers who had demonstrated outstanding proficiency and had achieved distinction in their profession. Potential Fellows had to be at least thirty-two years of age, with a minimum of ten years experience. When the IRE established its Fellow grade in 1914, the requirements were clearly modeled on those of the AIEE. Much of the wording in the relevant sections of the IRE constitution is identical to the corresponding wording in the AIEE constitution.

The first group of 16 AIEE Fellows were elevated to the new grade at the AIEE Board Meeting of 27 June 1912..

These fellows were:

AIEE, IRE, and IEEE

For the first several years after the establishment of the Fellow grade, both the AIEE and the IRE allowed Members to make direct application for transfer to Fellow. In both cases, applications had to be accompanied by references from five existing Fellows, and required the approval of the Board of Directors. In 1939, the IRE modified its procedure to make admission or transfer to the Fellow grade possible only by direct invitation of the Board of Directors, a policy it maintained until the merger in 1963. In 1938, the AIEE modified its constitution to provide that "Applications to the grade of Fellow shall result only from a proposal of five Members or Fellows." In 1951, the AIEE prohibited applications for Fellow grade altogether, and adopted a policy of direct invitation similar to that of the IRE.

As noted above, numerous electrical engineers were members of both the AIEE and the IRE, and many of these became Fellows of both organizations. When the two institutes merged in 1963, all AIEE and IRE Fellows automatically became Fellows of the IEEE. In 1942, the IRE had begun to issue citations to new Fellows, briefly describing their accomplishments. The AIEE followed suit in 1952, and the IEEE continued the practice after the merger.

Today, the Grade of Fellow is conferred by the Board of Directors upon a person with an extraordinary record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest. The total number selected in any one year does not exceed one-tenth of one percent of the total voting Institute membership. Each new Fellow receives a beautifully matted and framed certificate with the name of the Fellow and a brief citation describing the accomplishment, a congratulatory letter from the incoming IEEE president and a gold sterling silver Fellow lapel pin with an antique finish.

A list of IEEE Fellows up to 1984 can be found in the publication A Century of Honors, and the IEEE Fellows Directory contains a chronological list going back from the present to 1960, as well as an alphabetical list of current fellows.

Fellows Committee

The IEEE Fellows Progam is overseen by the IEEE Fellows Committee, a standing committee of the IEEE Board of Directors.

List of Fellow Committee Members, 1963 – present

Further Reading

Retrieved from "https://ethw.org/w/index.php?title=IEEE_Fellow_Grade_History&oldid=178728"

Powered by MediaWiki
Powered by Semantic MediaWiki