Edward C. Jordan

Biography

Edward C. Jordan (IRE Student member, 1936; Associate, 1939; Senior Member, 1945; and Fellow, 1953) was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on 31 December 1910. He received the B.Sc. degree, in 1934, and the M.Sc. degree, in 1936, in electrical engineering from the University of Alberta, Edmonton, and, in 1940, he received the Ph.D. degree from Ohio State University, Columbus.

Jordan was Control Operator at radio station CKUA for seven years from 1928 to 1935. He also held the job of Electrical Engineer for International Nickel Company in Sudbury for two years, from 1935 to 1937. He taught electrical engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute for one year (1940). After he earned the Ph.D. degree he returned to Ohio State, in 1941, and advanced from Instructor to Assistant Professor and worked at the Antenna Laboratory from 1941 to 1945. In 1945, he followed his mentor, William L. Everitt, to the University of Illinois, Urbana , where he supervised research on antennas and radio direction finding.

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 twenty-five 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. His research and publications focused on antennas and wave propagation as well as radio and electronics

Jordan received many honors and awards. He was a member of the USA National Committee of URSI and Chair of Commission VI on Radio Waves and Circuits. He also served as Chair of the IRE Professional Group on Antennas and Propagation. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering and became an fellow of the IEEE in 1953 (In 1953, he was an IRE Fellow. The IRE and AIEE merged in 1963 to create the IEEE). 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. 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 University of Illinois, Urbana- Champlain 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 18 October 1991.