It is a privilege to be an IEEE Life Member (LM) with so much to contribute back to the engineering community and the public in general. You are entitled to become a LM when your chronological age is at least 65 and the sum of this and your active membership duration reaches 100. Life Member activities are supported by the IEEE Foundation.

In summary the mission is to:

• Enhance and encourage interest in electrical and electronic engineering at secondary and tertiary (college) levels.

• Utilize the vast experience of LMs to impact the general public’s knowledge of electrical and electronic engineering and increase understanding of the role of engineers.

• Foster collaborations in pre-university education and encourage students to consider taking up engineering as a career.

• Promulgate the history of electrical engineering together with information and related technologies.

I was appointed Region 8 Life Member (and History activities) Coordinator in January 2009 and report to the R8 Vice-Chair for Membership Activities Pilar Molina Gaudo. I am also a corresponding Member of the IEEE Life Members Committee.

We are now encouraging all Sections to establish a Life Member Affinity (LMA) group.. Currently we have groups in France, Israel, Italy, Croatia and United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland; Switzerland Section is in the process of forming a group.

According to IEEE Life Member Group Procedures approved recently:

• A petition to establish a LM Group requires the signature of 6 IEEE Members, including at least 3 Life Members.

• In addition to a rebate of $200 to the Section, Life Member Groups are authorized by the IEEE Life Members Committee an annual budget not exceeding $1000 towards meetings or activities approved in advance by the Regional LM Coordinator. The funding will be provided upon actual expenses.

Using existing groups' experience, typical activities can range from: invited talks and seminars, history workshops and conferences, oral histories, and dialogue with other professional institutions, to initiating technical milestones, monitoring outside technical archives, museum projects, and social activities.

I do encourage Region 8 Sections to establish a LM Affinity group. Sections which report at least two meetings annually, will receive funding from IEEE Member and Geographic Activities Board. It is also possible to apply for extra funding from the LMC.

For any advice or question, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Dr. Jacob Baal-Schem
Tel-Aviv University
IEEE Region 8 Life Members Coordinator 2009