Edward J. Doyle

Biography

Edward "Jack" Doyle was born in Madison, Wisconsin in 1924. He entered the University of Wisconsin in 1941, but interrupted his schooling in 1944 to join the U.S. Navy as a Radio Technician. He served in the Philippines where, despite his rating of radio technician, his primary duty was that of drummer with a Navy band specializing in the popular "big band" sound of the 1940s. Following the War, Jack returned to the University of Wisconsin where he received a B.S.E.E. in 1947. He then began a long career with the Bell System Firm which he retired in 1985. Jack joined Illinois Bell as a Transmission Engineer in 1947 and, in 1952, moved to AT&T Headquarters in New York City where as Voice Frequency System Engineer he instituted the transmission standards for the emerging direct distance dial network (DDD). In 1960, he moved to Pacific Northwest Bell in Seattle and, in 1963, he was made Bell System Technical Liaison to the White House, serving during both the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, where he developed the first Presidential traveling switchboard (PorUS). In 1967, Jack went to New Jersey Bell Firm which he retired as General Manager, Support Services in 1985.

Jack Doyle's IEEE activities began as treasurer of the local AIEE Student Branch. Upon creation of the IEEE, he participated in the formation of the Communications Society, serving as its first Director of Administration and also as a Society Governor and Secretary. His extensive service to the Institute over the years encompasses many Committees and Boards, too numerous to mention here, but special note should be made of his participation in the Technical and United States Activities Boards, especially the latter. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors (1980-83; 1986-87): Division III Director (1980-81), Vice President, Professional Activities (1982-83), and Treasurer (1986-87). As a member of the Facilities Planning Committee, he was an energetic participant in the planning of the new Piscataway facility. He has represented the IEEE on the AAES and is an IEEE appointee to the United Engineering 1I-ustees, currently guiding construction of the new UET tower building. Jack received the IEEE Communications Society Donald W. McLellan Meritorious Service Award in 1981 and the IEEE Centennial Medal in 1984.

Jack's talents are not limited to engineering. He began playing drum as a youth with the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps, and then with the University of Wisconsin Band. He keeps on drumming...presently with a band called "Reeds, Rhythm, and All That Brass," which spreads the big band sound around North Jersey. And he never leaves home without his sticks, so he doesn't miss a chance to "sit-in" wherever he travels throughout the world. Other interests include model railroading, golf; and Francophilia, especially the Nice Jazz Festival in summer and pursuing gastronomic research in Paris in winter. Jack serves on the Boards of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Newark and the YWCA of West Hudson and Essex, is a recipient of the Key Award of the Chicago Jaycees (1951), and the Distinguished Service Citation of the University of Wisconsin (1982).

Jack Doyle received the 1989 IEEE Haraden Pratt Award 'For dedication to the effective utilization of the Institute's resources, leadership in Professional Activities, and the development of Institute facilities.'