HISTELCON conference
HISTELCON 2008
IEEE HISTORY OF ELECTROTECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE
From Semaphore to cellular radio telecommunications

Paris, France - 11-12 September 2008

First Call for Papers
Background - The transmission of messages faster than a man could run or a horseback could ride was based for many centuries on drums, fiery beacons, smoke, etc. Greeks and Romans developed different “telegraph systems” to send military messages.
The Chappe brothers in France did much in the late 18th century to develop the visual telegraph through a system of semaphore arms that could quickly be manipulated to form different shapes. During the 19th and 20th centuries, signal transmission and encoding followed major technological and sociological developments, to the point that today millions of users make contact through cellular telecommunications and the internet.
The Conference - The IEEE 2008 History Conference intends to build a comprehensive view of the history of electrical and information technologies, through professional papers, each of which investigates some formative development in the last centuries. The developments may include the opening of a new area of application, the invention of a major technique or the gradual replacement of one dominant technique by another. An important feature of this conference is the participation of people with different backgrounds – engineers, historians, museum curators - that should make discussions particularly fruitful. Visits to Museums will also stimulate exchange of ideas.


Theme and topics – The theme of the Conference is: “From Semaphore to cellular radio telecommunications”. We invite original and innovative contributions in areas including, but not limited to:

  • Developments in Communications Technologies
  • Communications as a museum item
  • Milestones in Digital Communications
  • History of Military Communication
  • Great scientists of the domain : Gauss, Weber, Morse, Cooke, Wheatstone, Hughes, Baudot, Branly, Marconi, Ferrié, etc.
  • History of the Internet
  • The technology replacement process
  • Communications in the National context
  • Encoding of messages
  • Social impact of technology
  • The role of Communications in modern life

Organization and Sponsorship – HISTELCON 08 is organized by IEEE Region 8 and Technicaly co-sponsored by IEEE History Committee and IEEE History Center.
Co-Sponsors: SEE, (Additional organizations contacted).

Organizing Committee:

  • Prof. Jean-Claude Boudenot – ISM IEEE – Chairman
  • Dr. Jacob Baal-Schem – Region 8 History Coordinator
  • Dr. Alain Bravo – SEE President
  • Prof. Peter Hill – R8 Life Members Coordinator
  • Prof. Christine Nora – R8 Secretary

Technical Program Committee:

  • Prof. Pierre Mounier Kuhn - Chairman
  • Dr. Frederik Nebeker (IEEE History Center)
  • Jean-Marie Colin
  • Philippe Magne
Abstract submission deadline – Technologists and Historians are invited to submit a 500 word abstract of the paper they intend to present, not later than 31 January 2008. The abstract will be used by the Technical Program Committee as a basis for acceptance of the paper for a 20 minutes presentation. The abstract should clearly communicate the aim and content of the presentation. Each abstract should be followed by a short CV of the author(s) , including affiliation and organization(s) membership.

All abstracts must be submitted electronically to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Submission of papers – All papers will be reviewed for presentation and presented papers will be included in the Conference proceedings and in IEEE Explore. For each presented paper, one presenter will have to fully register to the Conference. Guidelines for preparation of papers will be provided in due time.
Paper acceptance notification 15 April 2008
Final paper submission 15 June 2008

Tutorials, Special sessions and Panels – Proposal for Tutorials, Special sessions and Panels should be forwarded not later than 31 January 2008 to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Language - The official language of the Conference will be English (including lectures and printed material).

Book Exhibition – The Conference will be accompanied by an exhibition of books. Potential exhibitors are kindly invited to write to the Conference Secretariat.

Social Program and Tourist Services - A “Gala Dinner” is planned on September 11 as part of the social program. Activities for accompanying persons, will take place during the Conference. Post-Conference visits and tours will be offered for those interested.

Conference Secretariat: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it