IEEE Israel Section History
First IRE Section in Eastern Hemisphere
In June 1954 several members of I.R.E. residing in Israel met in Haifa and discussed "the possibility of forming an I.R.E. section in conformity with I.R.E. regulations". They formed a committee of 3 members and obtained 30 signatures of I.R.E. members who applied for the formation of the section. The establishment of the "first IRE section in the Eastern Hemisphere, the Israel Section" was approved by the IRE Board of Directors at its October 1954 meeting, and the official date of founding of the Israel Section is 5 October 1954.
In 1963, after the merger of IRE and AIEE, the Israel Section became part of IEEE Region 8 and is recognized as the first IEEE Section in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Chronological list of the Section Chairs
| 1955-1956 | Franz Ollendorf |
| 1957-1958 | E.H.Frei |
| 1959 | I.Cederbaum |
| 1960 | J.Shekel |
| 1961 | R.R. Gamzon |
| 1962-1965 | N/A |
| 1966-1967 | Uzia Galil |
| 1968-1969 | Yeshayahu Lavie |
| 1969–1971 | Gurion Meltzer |
| 1972-1974 | Israel Ben Arzi |
| 1975-1977 | Marc Weissenstern |
| 1978-1981 | Jacob Baal-Schem |
| 1982-1983 | Itzhak Ish-Hurvitz |
| 1984-1985 | David Biran |
| 1986-1988 | Ezra Zeheb |
| 1989-1990 | Uzi Z. Padan |
| 1991-1992 | Ezra Zeheb |
| 1993-1995 | Ady Seidman |
| 1996-1998 | Anthony J. Weiss |
| 1999-2001 | Ady Seidman |
| 2002-2005 | Arie Braunstein |
| 2006-2010 | Sigmond Singer |
| 2011 | Simon N Litsyn |
Chapters and Student Branches
As of 2011, IEEE Israel Section counts 1136 members (including 90 Life Members) and has 18 active Chapters and 2 Affinity Groups (WIE and LM).
IEEE Israel Section is proud of its 56 IEEE Fellows and of several members who received IEEE Awards and Medals including Prof. Jacob Ziv and Prof. Abraham Lempel, as well as Dov Frohman-Bentchkowsky.
All Chapters organize regular technical meetings and local and International workshops. The Life Members Group organizes since 2009 a series of 5 "Technical Friday" events per year with an audience of about 200.
Conferences
Since 1971 the IEEE Israel Section holds a Technical Conference, every second year. For many years, this is the country's major technical conference in Electrical and Electronics Engineering. Towards the 1981 Conference, IEEE Israel Chair contacted EUREL and proposed to hold EUROCON in Tel-Aviv. As the request was refused, IEEE Section proposed to Region 8 to initiate MELECON – the Mediterranean Electrotechnical Conference. This proposal was accepted and the Israel Section organized the first MELECON in Tel-Aviv on May 1981, with an International attendance of 1200 participants, in presence of Israel President and the President of IEEE. For Initiation of MELECON, Israel IEEE 1981 Section Chair, Jacob Baal-Schem, was awarded the Larry K. Wilson Transnational Award of 1987. He was awarded also with the IEEE Region 8 Volunteer Award for 2008.
The section continues to hold a Technical Conference every second year, with up to 350 attendees. In 1998 the Israel Section hosted again the MELECON Conference, in Tel-Aviv. The AP/MTT Chapter organizes since 2003 yearly Symposia, which became since 2008 COMCAS International Conferences (Conference On Microwaves, Communications, Antennas, Solid State Circuits and Electronic systems), chaired by Shmuel Auster, with up to 900 participants and a large Technical Exhibition (80 booths).
The Communications Chapter hosted "INFOCOM 2000" in Tel-Aviv.
Israel IEEE members participate in many of the IEEE Technical Conferences worldwide and are very active in publishing papers in IEEE Journals.
IEEE Milestones
IEEE Israel Section has sponsored the following IEEE Milestones in Electrical Engineering and Computing:
Lempel-Ziv Data Compression Algorithm
1977 – dedicated in September 2004
The Lempel-Ziv compression algorithm became a basis for enabling data transmission on the Internetin an efficient way. The plaque is placed at the Technion in Haifa, Israel
WEIZAC Computer
1955 – dedicated in December 2006.
The computer was built during 1954-1955 at the Weizmann Institute of Technology in Rehovot, Israel. It was based on drawings of the IAS computer of Princeton University and was the first digital electronic computer built in the Middle East. The plaque is placed at the Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel.
IEEE Israel status
The IEEE Israel Section is the main Technical organization in Israel in Electronics. Its membership is largely recognized in Academia and in High-Tech Industry.
IEEE Israel Section is incorporated as a Non for Profit (NPO) Association (Amuta) and is required to submit an annual financial report.
Activities in IEEE Organizations
Members of IEEE Israel Section serve in many positions in IEEE Committees and Societies. One of its members – Elya B. Joffe - was 2008/9 President of EMC Society and is 2011 President of PSES. Members of the Section serve as officers of IEEE Region 8 Committee, members of Corporate and Societies Committees and participate in Conferences Committees.
Expectations for the future
IEEE Israel Section continues to be the leading learned organization in Electronics in Israel and develops activities in advanced and emerging technologies, as nanotechnology and bio-engineering. It strives continuously to nurture a strong cooperation between academy and industry.
