INTRODUCTION
In the past three EMC Society Newsletters, as part of our Society’s
50th Anniversary Celebration, we have reviewed the three most
prestigious awards in the EMC Society; the EMC Society President’s
Memorial Award, the Richard R. Stoddart Award, and the Laurence
G. Cumming Award. Both the Stoddart and the Cumming Awards were
first given in 1979 while the President’s Memorial Award
was first given in 1992.
There are a number of other excellent awards given by the EMC
Society to deserving individuals as well as one given to the outstanding
chapter of the year. We will review these awards in chronological
order of when they were first initiated by the EMC Society.
CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION (1962)
The first award given by the EMC Society was the Certificate of
Appreciation. The original reason for this award was to give it
“annually to the Society member who has made a significant
contribution to the welfare, administration, and overall success
of the Society.” In the current thinking, it may be given
to more than one member annually and it shows appreciation for
contributions to the success of the Society.
The first recipient of the Certificate of Appreciation was Rexford
Daniels, a Founder of the EMC Society and the long-time editor
of the Society’s Newsletter. The Award was presented at the
Fourth National Symposium on Radio Frequency Interference held
in San Francisco from June 28- June 29, 1962. The newsletter recorded
the historic moment as follows: “Harold Dinger presented
the Certificate of Appreciation to Rexford Daniels which was accepted,
in his absence, by Laurence G. Cumming, IRE Professional Groups
Secretary.”
Members of the Society who earned the award in the early years
included Ralph M. Showers (1964), Leonard Thomas, Sr. (1965),
Aaron H. Sullivan, Jr. (1966), Herman Garlan (1966), Harold Dinger
(1967), and John Maynard (1967).
In 1968, a Certificate of Appreciation was awarded to Stanton
A. Bennett “for his efforts in promoting membership in the
group during his term as chairman of the Membership Committee.”
A second Certificate of Appreciation went to Milton Kant in 1968
“for his outstanding work while chairman of the Information
Retrieval Committee in preparing and organizing the EMC Abstracts
on a regular schedule.”
TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT (1968)
This Award was originally called the “Certificate of Achievement”
from 1968-1997. It was then, informally, called the “Certificate
of Technical Achievement” from 1998-2002. In 2003, the IEEE
officially approved the new name “Technical Achievement Award.”
This Certificated Award was developed to recognize “technical
accomplishments in the field of Electromagnetic Compatibility
which are significant but fall short of the accomplishments which
would qualify for Fellow Grade.”
The first year it originated (1968) it was awarded to two individuals;
Richard B. Schulz and John F. Chappell. Mr. Schulz earned the
following Citation – “For Outstanding Contributions
to the Development of Shielding Theory and Application and Evaluation
of Shielding Techniques.” Mr. Chappell’s Certificate
was “For Contributions to Fundamental Measurement Techniques
of Radio Frequency Interference and the Development of Standards.”
Other early recipients of the award included Donald E. Clark (1969),
Donald R. J. White (1970), Richard J. Mohr (1971), Edward N. Skomal
(1971), and Jack E. Bridges (1972).
CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION (1968)
The Certificate of Recognition was developed to bestow a very
special mark of recognition to a person, not necessarily a member
of the EMC Society. Symposium luncheon or banquet speakers usually
receive this award.
However, the first Certificate of Recognition was awarded to EMC
Founder and Member Rexford Daniels “for his Outstanding Service
as Editor of the Newsletter from March 1958 to June 1968.”
Mr. Daniels promptly wrote a Letter to the Editor of the Newsletter
that said the following: “I would like to take this opportunity
to thank the EMC Awards Committee and the Administrative Committee
for honoring me with the EMC Certificate of Recognition which
was presented to me at the Seattle Symposium banquet. Not being
accustomed to receiving such honors, I was at a total loss, at
the time, as just what to say. Just what do you say, when you
know all the mistakes you have made, of the countless frustrations
and the many things that you had to omit, and then find that,
instead of being politely censored, to be publicly honored? It,
somehow, seems to cover all your past troubles with a warm glow
which makes them fade away. This is a hard thing to try to pass
on to your successor who still has to live through them, but all
I can say is that it will be worth his while. Again, my thanks,
and to have, after a little thought, this opportunity to express
them.”
Other winners of the Certificate of Recognition included Senator
Barry M. Goldwater (1969), Ralph Nader (1970), Wilbur R. Pritchard
(1971), and Robert L. Elder (1972).
CERTIFICATE OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT (1969)
This Certificate is awarded to acknowledge a special service to
the Society. In the past, such services as General Chairman of
the EMC Society Symposium, organizer of an IEEE Convention session,
or liaison with another society or organization have been acknowledged
with this Certificate. Four of these awards were given out the
first year it was formalized. John Egli was recognized “for
his outstanding service to the advancement of Electromagnetic
Compatibility.” J. Paul Georgi received a Certificate “for
outstanding service in coordination between the Department of
Defense and the Group on Electromagnetic Compatibility.”
Herman Garlan was recognized “for outstanding service in
coordination between the Federal Communications Commission and
the Group on Electromagnetic Compatibility.” Finally, John
O’Neil received his “for service as Chairman of the
1969 Group-EMC Symposium.”
Other early winners of the award included Gene Cory (1970), George
Ufen (1970), Robert D. Goldblum (1971), Abul F. Rashid (1971),
Robert R. Ford (1972), and Howard Wolfman (1972).
THE EMC SOCIETY CITATION (1969)
This Citation has been awarded for outstanding performance in
the application of EMC Engineering principles at a crucial point
in the Space Program, and again for initiative and dedicated efforts
in relieving unemployment among EMC Society members.
The initial winner of this award in 1969 was Henry M. Hoffart
for “recognition of his accomplishments in achieving electromagnetic
compatibility in the final checkout of the Apollo 10 vehicle.”
His actions allowed NASA to meet the Apollo 10 launch schedule
in spite of problems with relays and indicator lights, which threatened
a delay.
This award was given only two other times; in 1973 to John McDonald,
Jr. and in 1985 to John Cooper. The Award is no longer an active
award of the EMC Society. As reported in the IEEE EMC Society
Newsletter (Issue No.98 – Summer – 1978), “the
Richard R. Stoddart Award for Outstanding Performance would replace
the present Citation Award”.
HONORARY LIFE MEMBER (1970)
This Award is the highest order of recognition for outstanding
service to the Society over a long period of time. (Note: The
Awards Committee in 1970 originally recommend that “members
of the EMC Group who have reached their 65th birthday and who
have held membership continuously since 1959 or for not less than
20 years shall automatically be eligible for Honorary Life Membership.”)
The award is a Certificate and a lifetime waiver of Society Dues.
The first winner of this Award was Rexford Daniels. This was the
third Society award of which Mr. Daniels was the initial awardee
(the other two being the Certificate of Appreciation and the Certificate
of Recognition).
CHAPTER OF THE YEAR (1971)
This award is given to an EMC Society Chapter for its performance
on meeting attendance, membership growth, and related activities
such as newsletters, special events, and an awards program.
The first winner of the award was the Central Texas Chapter (San
Antonio). It was awarded at the 1971 IEEE International Symposium
on EMC held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from July 13-15, 1971.
Other early Chapter of the Year Award winners included Phoenix
(1973), San Francisco Bay (1974 and 1975), Washington, D.C. (1976
and 1977) and New Jersey Coast (1978).
EMC TRANSACTIONS PRIZE PAPER AWARD (1973)
This award is made annually to recognize the outstanding paper
published in the IEEE Transactions on EMC. The selection is made
by the Editor of the Transactions and consists of a Certificate
plus a monetary award.
It was first awarded in 1973 to C.W. Harrison, Jr. and R.W.P.
King for their paper on “Excitation of a Coaxial Line Through
a Transverse Slot” which appeared in the November 1972 issue
of G-EMC Transactions.
Other early winners included Clayborne D. Taylor (1974), Thomas
Dvorak in 1975 for his related papers, “Electromagnetic Field
Immunity – A New Parameter in Receiver Design” and “Measurement
of Electromagnetic Field Immunity” which were both published
in the August 1974 Transactions, and James C. Lin (1976). In 1978,
two EMC Transactions Prize Paper Awards were given; the first
to Henning R. Harmuth for his paper titled “Selective Reception
of Periodic Electromagnetic Waves with General Time Variation”
and the second to David Middleton for his paper “Statistical-Physical
Models of Electromagnetic Interference.” Both papers were
first published in the August 1977 issue of the IEEE Transactions
on EMC.
INTERNATIONAL EMC AWARD (1975)
This award recognized outstanding contributions to the international
exchange of EMC Technology. The award was a bronze plaque.
It was first awarded to Dr. Fritz E. Borgnis in 1975. And, in
1984, Dr. Risaburo Sato received the award. In 1985, both James
S. Hill and Thomas Dvorak received the award.
The EMC Society no longer supports this award.
SUMMARY
The EMC Society is proud of its awards program and congratulates
all past winners. For a complete list of winners of the awards
over the years, you can access the EMC Society web page. We look
forward to presenting these outstanding awards in 2007 in Hawaii
when the 50th Anniversary celebration will be celebrated as part
of the 2007 IEEE International Symposium on EMC. EMC
