Four Decades of EMC Society Presidents Attend IEEE EMC Symposium in
Denver. Seated L-R:
Don Clark (1988-89), Len Carlson (1986-87), Ed Bronaugh (1990-91), Gene Cory (1974-75),
Bill Gjertson (1996-97), Ralph Showers (1960-61). Standing L-R: Dan Hoolihan (1998-99),
Warren Kesselman (1994-95), Bob Hofmann (1992-93), Don Heirman (1980-81),
Bill Duff (1982-83), Dick Schulz (1968).
The EMC Society will celebrate its 50th Anniversary in the year 2007. That may seem like a long way off, but the Board of Directors is already making plans to celebrate this occasion in a grand way. Those largely responsible for the attainment of a milestone such as this are the presidents of the EMC Society, especially past presidents Ralph Showers and Dick Schulz who guided the Society during its formative years. Sadly, Dick Schulz passed away shortly after this photo was taken. Many of us will remember Dick by the warm smile shown in this photo.
In August 1983, Len Thomas and the late Jim Hill, Fellows and Life Members of the IEEE EMC Society, wrote an article on the history of the EMC Society, entitled “A Brief Review of the Origin and Growth Statistics of the IEEE EMC Society” (volume EMC-25). This article, published in the IEEE Transactions on EMC, notes that the foundation of the Society was laid in Los Angeles, California, at meeting of radio-frequency engineers on February 23, 1956. There were many engineers at this meeting who represented such firms as AiResearch, Sprague, Stoddart Aircraft Radio, Douglas Aircraft, Filtron, Lockheed, and Northrop, to name a few. The steering committee appointed to formalize the functions and aims of this group of engineers were Prentice Tinney, Al Parker, Charles Ketteman and Fred Nichols. Just one year later, on February 27, 1957, six RFI engineers got together at the Armour Conference in Chicago and discussed a plan of organization for RFI engineers.
The article notes: “A. Zimbalatti, J. Lucyk, A. Ruzgis, S. Nellis, M. Kant, and H. Schwenk were the six who asked Fred Nichols, in his luncheon talk, to announce their plans to organize a group in the New York City area.” They petitioned the Institute of Radio Engineers (IIRE) to establish a professional group on radio frequency interference. From these origins, the EMC Society as we know it was born. It’s doubtful that this group of engineers in 1957 would have ever dreamed about the explosion in electronics that we see today. While the growth was originally spurred by government requirements, these days the growth continues from commercial requirements. Take a moment to visit with one of the past presidents at a future IEEE EMC symposium. Their wealth of knowledge will astound you.
Janet O’Neil Editor
Editor’s Note: A complete obituary on the life and times of Richard B. Schulz will appear in the next newsletter.