Oral-History:James McNaul
About James McNaul
James McNaul was born on August 20, 1933, in Madison Wisconsin. His father was an engineer professor and machine designer-he designed most United States car oil sticks. McNaul attended the University of Madison and obtained his bachelor’s degree in engineering in January 1956. Upon graduating, McNaul entered the Army Signal Corps, where he met his wife of fifty years, Lois, and resigned in the fall of 1959. He remained, as a civilian, in the labs until 1964. In November 1957, McNaul organized a systems-oriented conference at Fort Monmouth and hosted a classified and unclassified part. After he left the military, McNaul worked in the private sector and went to Stanford Sloan program for his Ph.D. Interested in professionalism, he focused his dissertation research on professionals in organizations.
The second president of the EMC Society in 1957, McNaul suggested IEEE become national and was an integral member in the creation of the EMC Society. This interview- part of the IEEE EMC project- concentrates on McNaul’s army years, his involvement in the nascent years of the RFI and EMC professional group and his thoughts on engineering educational programs and ethics.
About the Interview
JAMES MCNAUL: An Interview Conducted by John Vardalas, IEEE History Center, 16 June 2005
Interview #453 for the IEEE History Center, The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Copyright Statement
This manuscript is being made available for research purposes only. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to the IEEE History Center. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the Director of IEEE History Center.
Request for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the IEEE History Center Oral History Program, Rutgers - the State University, 39 Union Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8538 USA. It should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user.
It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows:
James McNaul, an oral history conducted in 2005 by John Vardalas, IEEE History Center, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
Interview
Interview: James McNaul
Interviewer: John Vardalas
Date: 16 June 2005
Place: Reno, Nevada
