Edward C. Jordan

Biography

Edward C. Jordan was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on December 31st, 1910. He received his BSEE degree in 1934 from the University of Alberta. Here he obtained a position as control operator in the university's radio broadcasting station, CKUA and he earned his MSEE degree in 1936. After he received his master's degree, he obtained a position as an electric power engineer in the nickel mines of Sudbury. In 1940 he received his doctorate from Ohio State University. Upon completing his doctoral degree, he served one year as instructor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and returned to Ohio State University in 1941, where he was an instructor, assistant professor, and consultant to the Antenna Laboratory from 1941 to 1945. In 1945, he followed his mentor, William L. Everitt, to the University of Illinois.

At the University of Illinois, Jordan served as associate professor from 1945 to 1947, professor from 1947 to 1979, director of the Radio Direction Finding Laboratory from 1946 to 1954, and director of the Antenna Laboratory from 1950 to 1954. In 1954, he was named Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering, in which capacity he served for 25 years until his retirement in 1979.

Jordan authored or edited nine books including Principles of Radio (1942) and Electromagnetic Waves and Radiating Systems (1950) and published numerous technical articles. His most popular textbook, Electromagnetic Waves and Radiating Systems, was first published by Prentice-Hall and a second edition, co-authored with K.G. Blamain, was published in 1968. At the time of his death, he was editing the eighth edition of Reference Data for Engineers: Radio Electronics, Computers, and Communications for Howard W. Sams & Co., Inc., publishers.

Jordan received many honors and awards in his career. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of the IEEE in 1953. He received the prestigious IEEE Education Medal in 1968, the Centennial Medal in 1984 and the Stanley H. Pierce Award at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign University, and the University of Alberta. In 1967 he was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) "For radio direction finding and antenna research" and in 1974 he was elected an eminent member of Eta Kappa Nu. He also received the Alumni Honor Award for Distinguished Service in Engineering 1986 from the UIUC College of Engineering, the George Sinclair Award from Ohio State University in 1988, and the Professional Achievement Award from the University of Alberta in 1988.

Edward C. Jordan died on October 18, 1991.