The way ahead

Power struggles and factional clashes make the individual histories of the major engineering societies surprisingly fascinating topics for investigation. Of equal, or even greater, interest to IEEE members are present-day similarities and differences in these societies' approaches to member services. Last month's Spectrum told the stories of four of the "Founder Societies" - an appellation derived from the joint society financing and construction of two headquarters buildings over the years. IEEE's predecessor society, the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE); the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME); the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE); and the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) were all discussed in some detail in the May issue. Significant differences in the approaches of the individual societies to member services were explained as outgrowths of conditions surrounding the formative years of each society. This sequel to that article completes the comparison by considering the fifth Founder Society, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), and IEEE's other ancestral society, the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE). The article concludes by addressing several present-day concerns of the Founder Societies that will be of particular interest to IEEE members since those concerns reflect on some of IEEE's recent or incipient controversies.

The 50th anniversary of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) is an appropriate time to look back at the origins and growth of both the field of biomedical engineering and the EMBS. The present account gives most attention to the aspects of biomedical engineering to which IEEE members (and, earlier, American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) members and Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) members) contributed, which is to say that this account emphasizes the electrical, electronic, and computing aspects of biomedical engineering. Topics covered include: history of the technologies; the roots of biomedical engineering; prehistory and history of the profession; biomedical applications of the computer; health care; ultrasound technology; new means of medical imaging; endoscopy, lasers, and fear of electromagnetic fields; study of human metabolism; the Human Genome Project, robotics, and internationalization; and forecasting progress in biomedical engineering.

"Herdt, Louis A., (1872–1926), Officier d’Académie France; electrical engineer; Professor of Electrical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, since 1909; Hon. Secretary, American Institute of Electrical Engineers" published on by Oxford University Press.

In 1925, the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) selected Harris J. Ryan as the recipient of the Edison Medal. He was cited "for his contributions to the science and art of high-tension transmission of power." He had been a member of the AIEE since 1887 and had served as vice president of the Institute during 1896-1898 and as president during 1923-1924. He enjoyed an outstanding career of more than 40 years as an electrical engineering educator at Cornell University and at Stanford University

Keister William. Thelogic of relay circuits. Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, vol. 68 part I (1949),pp. 571–576.Washburn S. H.. Relay “trees” and symmetric circuits. Transactions of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, vol. 68 part I (1949), pp. 582–586.

A notable conference was held in the headquarters of the Institute, beginning October 25, 1915, and lasting two weeks, on the National Electrical Safety Code which has been prepared by the Bureau of Standards. It had been expected that a conference would be held in Washington, beginning October 27, at which delegates were to attend from the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, the National Electric Light Association, the American Electric Railway Association, the telephone interests, the fire and casualty insurance interests, the state industrial and public service commissions, several of the larger cities, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the National Safety Council, and a considerable number of engineers representing groups of utility companies with which the representatives of the Bureau of Standards had held conferences in different parts of the country. The expectation was that this conference would discuss and amend the code as presented by the Bureau, and then approve it for use, the recommendation of the Bureau being that for the first year the code be adopted on trial, subject to amendment at the end of the year. However, at the urgent request of the Board of Directors of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, of the National Electrical Light Association, and the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies, the Bureau postponed the Washington conference and held instead a conference with representatives of the various utilities that are affected by the code and of some of the electrical manufacturers. The object of this conference was to enable a thorough study of the code to be made in conjunction with the representatives of the Bureau of Standards, by representatives from various parts of the country of the electric light and power companies, the steam and electric railways, the telephone and telegraph companies, and the manufacturers. The delegates included those previously appointed by the engineering societies to attend the Washington conference, together with a large number of others selected to give the best representation possible for the different parts of the country and the different interests. Six engineers from the Pacific coast came east especially to attend the conference, one of whom represented the California Industrial Accident Commission, which has been cooperating with the Bureau in the preparation of the code. Eighty-five persons in all attended the sessions, a majority of whom remained through the entire conference.

You may have heard or recall that SPE was originally part of what is now the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers (AIME). In 1985, SPE and the other three AIME member societies, the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration (SME); The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society (TMS); and the Association for Iron and Steel Technology (AIST), became separately incorporated from AIME. AIME, founded in 1871, was one of the first national engineering societies established in the United States. In 1904, AIME and two other engineering societies—the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the American Institute of Electrical Engineers—formed what is now called the United Engineering Foundation (UEF) to advance the engineering arts and sciences for the welfare of humanity. UEF received a gift of $1 million from Andrew Carnegie to build a common headquarters building in New York City and house their joint and sever-al libraries. By 1958, two other engineering societies had joined UEF: the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). SPE is the largest engineering society among the AIME member societies, but by no means as large as some of the UEF founder societies. For example, the successor organization to the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), is the world’s largest technical professional association with roughly 450,000 members. Both AIME and UEF founder societies have awards for which SPE members are eligible. Some of these are exclusive to SPE and administered by SPE award committees. They are familiar names: the DeGolyer and Lucas awards, and Honorary Membership. Others are available to SPE members as well as those belonging to one of the four AIME member societies. These include the Charles F. Rand Memorial Gold Medal, honoring distinguished achievement in mining administration, including metallurgy and petroleum Robert Earll McConnell Award, which recognizes beneficial service to mankind by engineers through significant contributions that advance a nation’s standard of living or replenishes its natural resources Rossiter W. Raymond Memorial Award, given for the best paper written by a member under age 35

In 1919, the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) selected William L. R. Emmet as the recipient of the Edison Medal. He was cited for his inventions and developments of electrical apparatus and prime movers. During his long career in electrical power engineering, Emmet demonstrated an exceptional ability to design large turbines, generators, and electric motors for use in central power plants, traction systems, and ship propulsion.

A Generation of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers - 1884-1924

CONTRIBUTIONS to these columns are invited from Institute members and subscribers. They should be concise and may deal with technical papers, articles published in previous issues, or other subjects of some general interest and professional importance. ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING will endeavor to publish as many letters as possible, but of necessity reserves the right to publish them in whole or in part, or to reject them entirely. STATEMENTS in these letters are expressly understood to be made by the writers; publication here in no wise constitutes endorsement or recognition by the American Institute of Electrical Engineers.

Compilation of Discussions, Suggestions and Criticisms, Appearing in the Technical and Scientific Press upon the Report and Provisional Congress Programme of the Sub-Committee Appointed by the American Institute of Electrical Engineers

Nominations of Officers of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers

Presidential address to the American Institute of Electrical Engineers at St. Louis

Introductory. The question as to what tests for commercial lightning-arresters might be properly incorporated in the standardization rules of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers has lately been considered by the Standardization Committee. The committee finally decided not to adopt any lightning tests in the new edition of the rules adopted June 21, 1907. However, the sub-committee on lightning-arresters hopes to get a full consideration of the subject for the benefit of a later Standardization Committee. The present paper, together with another paper on the same subject by Mr. E. E. F. Creighton, is prepared at the request of the sub-committee to serve as a basis for discussion. As no lightning-arrester tests have ever been included in the standardization rules the initial treatment should now receive especially careful attention.

Electrical section: A joint meeting of the section and the Philadelphia section of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers was held in the Hall of the Institute on Thursday, February 8, 1917, at 8 p.m.