The EMC Society will be celebrating its 50th anniversary as an IEEE Society in 2007.

The Board of Directors of the EMC Society has formed an ad hoc committee to begin planning for the anniversary. The members of the 50th Anniversary Committee are Dan Hoolihan (Chair), Henry Ott, Warren Kesselman, Herb Mertel, Len Carlson and Elya Joffe.
The EMC Society was formed in 1957 as the Professional Group on Radio Frequency Interference, which was part of the Institute of Radio Engineers in New Jersey. Some of the original founders were Ralph Showers, Warren Kesselman, Fred Nichols, Harold Schwenk, Herman Garlan, Leonard W. Thomas, Sr., and Anthony Zimbalatti.

The 1982 issue of the EMC Society Transactions was devoted to the history of the first 25 years of the EMC Society. It makes for very interesting reading!

One of the key decisions to be made by the committee is the location of the 2007 IEEE International Symposium on EMC. (This decision will, of course, be subject to the review and approval of the EMCS's Board of Directors.) Initial suggestions for the location have included Hawaii (because it is the 50th state of the United States), Las Vegas (because it is easy to travel to and has lots of convention space), Orlando (because of Disney World), and San Diego (because of its convention facilities and its great weather and location).

We are asking the readers of this Newsletter to submit additional suggestions for the location of the 2007 Symposium to Dan Hoolihan at hoolihan@emcxpert.com. Please include a short summary of why you think your recommendation would be the best choice for the EMC symposium location. The Board of Directors would like to make a preliminary choice of location by their November 2002 meeting.
Other preliminary ideas for the 50th anniversary include a gold commemorative coin, a special issue of the Transactions on EMC which will cover the second 25 years of the EMC Society, unique and different activities at the 2007 EMC Symposium, cooperative activities with the IEEE History Center, special Newsletter editions, essays by distinguished EMC personnel, including some of the original founders, inducements to other IEEE members to join the EMC Society, CD-ROMs of symposium records and transactions and additional items to be thought of and revealed as the Committee meets over the next five years. If you have some unique thoughts on celebratory ideas, please send them to Dan Hoolihan at hoolihan@emcxpert.com or any of the committee members.
We plan on making the 50th anniversary celebration of the EMC Society a major series of events. We welcome your ideas and your participation. Please contact any committee member with your ideas and suggestions.

Remember, 2007 is only a short five years away!

EMC