TRANSITION TIME
As part of the 50th Anniversary of the EMC Society, which culminated
in a special one-day celebration in Hawaii last July 13th (2007),
a Committee had been formed in 2000 to organize, research, and
coordinate the 50th Anniversary. This 50th Anniversary Committee
was an ad-hoc committee that reported to the President of the
EMC Society. At the end of 2007, the 50th Anniversary Committee
was dissolved and the History Committee of the EMC Society will
handle its activities and subsequent historical activities.
My thanks, once again, are extended to the members of the 50th
Anniversary Committee for their outstanding efforts. The committee
members included: Henry Benitez, Joe Butler, Len Carlson, Andy
Drozd, Bill Duff, Bill Gjertson, Bob Goldblum, Fred Heather, Don
Heirman, Todd Hubing, Elya Joffe, Warren Kesselman, Herb Mertel,
Mark Montrose, Janet O’Neil, Henry Ott, Jerry Ramie, Mark
Steffka, Dave Staggs, and Kimball Williams.
HISTORY COMMITTEE
The History Committee is part of the Communications Services branch
of the EMC Society Board of Directors organization. The Vice-President
of Communications Services is Ghery Pettit and the author is the
current chairperson of the EMC Society History Committee.
Members are being recruited for the History Committee; if you
are interested, you can contact the author at danhoolihanemc@aol.com.
Carryover activities from the 50th Anniversary include distributing
CDs and DVDs to Chapter chairs, presentation of a plaque to IEEE
Headquarters, and an exhibit at the IEEE Headquarters building
in Piscataway, New Jersey.
As part of the 50th Anniversary, a CD was developed with the help
of Jerry Ramie. This CD contains many pictures of EMC Society
members and it also includes a Power Point Presentation on the
History of the EMC Society. This CD has been distributed to EMC
Society Board Members as well as the Chapter Chairs of the EMC
Society.
In addition to the CD, a DVD of “Founders War Stories”
was also distributed at the same time. This DVD is a video presentation
of the “War Stories” (their experiences in the course
of their EMC careers) of the six Founders of the EMC Society that
were present in Hawaii for the 2007 IEEE International Symposium
on EMC. Jerry Ramie filmed this presentation on Thursday, July
12, 2007, in Hawaii when the Founders presented their thoughts
in a mini-session held in the EMC Society History Museum at the
Hawaii Convention Center. It is hoped to publish these war stories
in the EMC Newsletter in the future as we are presently transcribing
them from the DVD-media to written format.
On Monday, January 14, EMC Society Past-President, Andy Drozd,
presented a plaque to the IEEE Headquarters Staff in Piscataway.
This plaque was from the United States National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA) and contained a lapel pin from the
EMC Society celebrating its 50th Anniversary. This pin flew on
the shuttle last August and was presented to IEEE Headquarters
for display purposes. The plaque is shown below:
The inscription reads:
This United States flag, crew patch, and anniversary pin were
flown aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, STS-118, August 8-21,
2007.
Commemorating the Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Society’s
50th Anniversary on 10 October 2007, this pin is symbolic of the
partnership NASA shares worldwide with members of the EMC Society
and with members of their parent organization, the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Let us reach for the stars together!
From the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
A formal exhibit of two older EMC test receivers, the EMC Society
historical booklet, and appropriate photos of EMC Founders and
leaders will be exhibited at the IEEE Headquarters in Piscataway,
New Jersey starting in February of 2008. This exhibit is being
constructed and coordinated by Frederik Nebeker of the IEEE History
Center and should be on display for at least six months in an
exhibit case at Piscataway.
Make sure you stop and see it when you are in the vicinity.
EMC
Society History Committee