EMC Society History

Introduction to the
EMC Society History Section

In this Newsletter we have three articles for the History Section.
     Our look back into the history of the EMC Society starts with two EMC Society Newsletters from late 1961, October and December; the Fall of 1986 (Issue No. 131), and the Fall of 2001 (Issue No. 191). As the History Chair, I have collected our old Newsletters from a variety of sources; one of those sources was one of our Past-Presidents, Edwin (Ed) Bronaugh. As I was paging through the 1986 Issue (which I had received from Ed); I ran across a large yellow piece of notebook paper with a phone memo stapled to it. The phone memo was dated November 11 and was taken at 3 pm; it was a phone call from Ed Nucci with a short message saying “Wants to speak with you about the EMC Society Newsletter. He’s an IEEE Fellow.” Additional notes on the yellow pad said that Ed Nucci could be reached at 202-457-4965 and that he works for EIA. He publishes an EIA news bulletin every two months listing standards and related articles. He was interested in reprinting the Frank Rock Paper from the 1986 EMC-S Newsletter because he liked “the ideas that were presented.” I don’t know if Ed Nucci and Ed Bronaugh ever connected on this request; the yellow sheet of paper was silent on the

outcome. However, knowing how organized Ed Bronaugh was, I am optimistic that they did connect and that the Frank Rock article on “The DoD Acquisition Streamlining Initiative Program and EMC” was republished by the EIA.

     The second article is another reprint of the “Quasies and Peaks” Newsletter. This one is from June of 1955; for those of you who are counting, it is the fourth Q&P Newsletter we have republished since starting this effort. As you may remember, the “Quasies and Peaks” Newsletter was a private Newsletter that was edited by Rexford Daniels who became the first official editor of the Professional Group on Radio Frequency Interference (RFI’s) Newsletter in 1957. As we stated previously, we are reprinting these for your reading enjoyment and for archival purposes.
     The third article is written by Gene Taylor of Altamont Technical Services, the Exhibits Chair for the 2011 IEEE International Symposium on EMC. Gene put together a special historical exhibit on the exhibit floor displaying prominent members of the EMC Society who have been Pioneers in exhibiting their company’s products and services for at least 25 years.
     Happy Reading and keep those cards and e-mails coming!      EMC

 

 

EMC Society Newsletter Articles
50–25–10 Years Ago

Fifty Years Ago – October 1961 – Newsletter Number 18 –
Institute of Radio Engineers –
Professional Group on Radio Frequency Interference

The cover page of the Newsletter included a Message from the Chairman, and Reports from the Chairman of the Membership Committee, the Chairman of the Awards Committee, the Chairman of the Technical Papers Committee, and the Chairman of the Liaison Committee.
     The Membership Report highlighted the fact that the Group had grown to over 1,000 members in a period of four years.
     The Administrative Committee was deciding whether to raise the Membership Fee from $2.00 to $3.00.
     The Administrative Committee consisted of Sam Burruano, Rexford Daniels, Harold Dinger, John Egli, Robert Fairweather, Herman Garlan, Hal Gauper, Zigmund Grobowski, Leonard Milton, W. E. Pakala, Henry Randall, Otmar Schreiber, Ralph Showers, Richard Schulz, and Leonard Thomas.
     It was reported in the August 16, 1961 issue of Electronic Design that “Deception Island, in the Falklands off the southern coast of Argentina, will be used as a long-wave antenna. As an antenna, the island would test the characteristics of interference in the very low-frequency region.”
     The Newsletter reported that “Samuel J. Burruano, a member of the PGRFI Administrative Committee and past Vice-Chairman, has formed his own company, Burruano Associates, Inc., 51 Sullivan Street, Westwood, New Jersey, telephone number North 6-1234. This new company is specializing in the field of systems interference prediction, control and analysis, mutual interference, radiation hazards, jamming and ECM, and shielding and grounding systems. Mr. Burruano was formerly Manager of Systems Engineering Division of Filtron, Co., Inc., New York and was also formerly associated with RCA in Camden and formed its first company-wide RFI Group.”


Fifty Years Ago – December 1961– Newsletter Number 19 –
Institute of Radio Engineers – Professional Group
on Radio Frequency Interference

The cover page of the Newsletter had “Highlights of the Seventh Armour Conference” as its lead article. It stated that the November 24 issue of Electronics carried a two-page article, with four illustrations, of the Seventh Armour Conference.
     A short article on the upcoming “Fourth National PGRFI Symposium” was also on the cover page. It said “Advance information on the Fourth National PGRFI Symposium is available; it will be held in San Francisco on the 28th and 29th of June in 1962. Five-hundred word summaries of papers are requested and may be submitted to the Technical Program Committee immediately. The theme for the conference will be ‘Design – the Answer to RFI.’ It is felt that after having several symposia where the central theme was interference prediction and control, the time has come once again to highlight the design – the ultimate solution. The development of this theme will, it is hoped, serve the following purposes: (1) Establish some requirements for interference-free design, at the circuit, equipment, and system levels; (2) Bring to the attention of designers of high-performance and highly sensitive devices, the importance of freedom from interference as a design criterion and its importance in preliminary design; (3) Bring new applications in communications and control to the attention of active workers in the field of RFI so that some new problems can be anticipated; (4) Bring to the attention of workers in the field new components and material and to encourage their use in eliminating interference; and (5) Help in making useful the results of current efforts in interference prediction and data collection such as the DoD Radio Frequency Compatibility Program.”
     It was announced that there would be a CISPR Meeting in the USA. The Plenary Assembly of the International Special Committee on Radio Frequency Interference will be held at the University of Pennsylvania on October 2–7, 1962.
     It was highlighted that “The Institute of Radio Engineers Committee 27 on Radio Frequency Interference had S. I. Cohn as its Chairman and Sam Burruano as its Vice-Chairman. Sub-committee 27.1 on Basic Measurements was chaired by Ralph Showers, SC 27.3 on Radio and TV Receivers was chaired by F. G. Cole, SC 27.4 on Radio Transmitters was chaired by Vince Mancino, SC 27.5 on Industrial Electronics was chaired by C. W. Frick, and SC 27.7 on Mobile Communications Equipment was chaired by J. F. Chappell.
     An article announced a “FCC Notice of Proposed Rule Making.” It went on to say: “The FCC has sent out a Notice of Proposed Rule Making, Docket No. 14376, in the matter of amendment of Part 15 of the FCC Rules to provide for telemetering devices and wireless microphones.”
     The editor of the PGRFI Newsletter was Rexford Daniels.

 

 


From left to right: George Kunkel, Gene Knowles, Don Clark, Bob Haislmaier, Don Heirman, Bob Hofmann, Bob Goldblum, Henry Ott, Dick Ford, Len Carlson, Charlotte Tyson, Dick Shulz, Chet Smith, Fred Nichols, Risaburo Sato, Art Wall, Bob Brook, Gene Cory and Jim Hill.

25 Years Ago – IEEE Electromagnetic
Compatibility Society Newsletter –
Issue No. 131 – Fall 1986

The cover story was titled “A Tribute to the 1986 EMC Symposium Committee.” It went on to say: “The 1986 International Symposium on EMC, sponsored by the IEEE EMC Society, was a huge success. Held in San Diego from September 16–18, it attracted nearly 2,000 people who came from all over the world to hear more than 105 technical papers, attend informative workshops, enjoy entertaining luncheons and to see the wares displayed in 143 exhibit booths. It was a job well done by the Chairman, Herb Mertel, and a competent staff of organizing committee workers.”
     The Newsletter had a picture of the 1986 EMC Society Board of Directors, as shown on page 28.
     The EMC Personality Profile was Michel Mardiguian as handled by Associate Editor William G. Duff.
     The Practical Papers, Articles, and Application Notes part of the Newsletter highlighted “The DoD Acquisition Streamlining Initiative Program and EMC” by Frank E. Rock. The article was edited by Edwin Bronaugh.
     Book Reviews were done by Jim Hill and it included a review of “Electrostatic Discharge – Understand, Simulate, and Fix ESD Problems” by Michel Mardiguian and “Antennas and Radiowave Propagation” by Robert E. Collins.
     The Editor of the Newsletter was Robert Goldblum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Ten Years Ago – IEEE EMC Society Newsletter –
Issue No. 191 – Fall 2001

The cover of the “Ten-Year” Newsletter was a collage of photos from the EMC 2001 Symposium (International Rendez-Vous) held in Montreal, Canada.
     The President’s Message was found on the inside cover of the Newsletter and it was highlighted by a picture of Joe Butler, the President of the Society, and his daughter Christie, who joined him for the festivities at the 2001 IEEE International Symposium on EMC – the International Rendez-Vous.
     The Chapter Chatter Column, edited by Todd Robinson, reviewed reports from the France, Germany, Israel, Nanjing, Central New England, Phoenix, Rocky Mountain, Singapore, Seattle, and Southeastern Michigan Chapters.
     Bob Olsen, the Associate Editor for Practical Papers, Articles, and Application Notes discussed a paper titled “A Different Antenna for the Mode-Stirred Chamber” by Matthew R. Wills of Cessna Aircraft Company.
     The Personality Profile by Associate Editor Bill Duff was done on Donald R. Bush, a long-time member of the EMC Society with a colorful Kentucky personality.
     EMC Society Award winners were prominently displayed in the middle of the Newsletter; they included Fred Bauer with the Stoddart Award, Marcello D’Amore with the Best Transactions Paper Award, and David Staggs with the Laurence G. Cumming Award.
     Four pages of the Newsletter were devoted to great pictures of the people in attendance at the 2001 IEEE International Symposium on EMC in Montreal.
     The Newsletter was edited by Janet O’Neil.     EMC



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