IEEE Austria Section History
| IEEE Austria Section History | |
|---|---|
| Established date | 1979/12/21 |
| IEEE Region | 8 |
| IEEE Council | |
| Geographic region | Austria |
| Region area | Europe |
| Principal cities | Vienna |
| Home page | http://www.ieee-austria.org/ |
| List of Subsections in this Section
| |
How it started in 1979
The idea to establish an IEEE Section in Austria came up in the years preceding 1979. After these plans have been detailed the OVE (Austrian Electrotechnical Association) set the formation process in motion. As part of these activities the OVE nominated a representative, Heinrich Pangratz, who led preparatory talks with the IEEE headquarter. Finally, in 1997 a number of motivated OVE members (helding an IEEE membership too) formally started the formation process of the IEEE Austria Section. During the early years the IEEE Austria Section was heavily supported by the OVE and today, there is still a strong cooperation between these two associations. The figure below shows the form that has been used to report the first section officers to the IEEE headquarter (Kurt Richter/Graz University of Technology, Robert Genser/ÖBB Austrian Federal Railways, Andreas Sethy/Arsenal Research Center and Franz Voggenberger/Schrack).
The official approval date of the IEEE Austria Section is December 21, 1979. Upon approval the first meetings have been organized. Below is invitation of the first section chair, Kurt Richter (who was professor at Graz University of Technology during that time) to the IEEE president.
Starting with 60 members in 1980, the number of IEEE Austria Section members raised from 370 in 1990 to 1.300 in the year 2010. Today, the IEEE Austria Section is a strong player in the area of electrical engineering and related fields with members from both academia and industry in Austria. All the work in the manifold society chapters, student branches and affinity groups of the section is done by highly motivated section officers on a pure voluntary basis.
Membership Development
The followig figure provides an overview of the membership developments over the time:
40th Anniversary in 2019
In 2019 the IEEE Austria Section was celebrating the 40th anniversary of the section in Graz as part of the IEEE International Conference of Connected Vehicles and Expo (ICCVE). The photo below provides an impression of this event.
The photo shows (from the left to the right): Margaretha Eriksson (Past Director IEEE Region 8), Ernst Bonek (Chair IEEE Austria from 1985-1990), Kurt Richter (founding member and Chair IEEE Austria from 1980-1985), Peter Rössler (Chair IEEE Austria from 2012-2014), Michael Heiss (Chair IEEE Austria during 2017 and 2020) and Reinhard Pfliegl (Chair IEEE Austria from 2018-2019).
More information about the achievements during the first 40 years of the section are provided in the corresponding 40th Anniversary Booklet.
Executive Committee
The following list shows all the members of the Executive Committee (ExCom) of the section since its formation in 1979:
| Year | Chair | Vice Chair | Treasurer | Secretary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/1980 - 01/1985 | Kurt R. Richter | Robert Genser | Franz O. Voggenberger | Andreas Sethy |
| 02/1985 - 12/1990 | Ernst Bonek | Robert Genser | Franz O. Voggenberger | Gerhard F. Doblinger |
| 01/1991 - 12/1995 | Ingeborg J. Hochmair-Desoyer | Max Kowatsch | Franz O. Voggenberger | Manfred K. Susts |
| 01/1996 - 12/2001 | Michael Muhr | Franz J. Seifert | Franz O. Voggenberger | Edgar R. Trummer/Christoph F. Strnadl |
| 01/2002 - 12/2005 | Christoph F. Strnadl | Bernd Kopacek | Matthias Hülsemann | Christian G. Diskus |
| 01/2006 - 12/2008 | Dietmar Dietrich | Thilo Sauter | Andreas Kaindl | Franz Pirker |
| 01/2009 - 12/2009 | Andreas Kaindl | Franz Pirker | Thilo Sauter | Jan Haase |
| 01/2010 - 01/2012 | Jan Haase | Franz Pirker | Thilo Sauter | Peter Palensky |
| 02/2012 - 12/2014 | Peter Rössler | Margit Gelautz | Thilo Sauter | Peter Palensky |
| 01/2015 - 12/2016 | Peter Palensky | Michael Heiss | Thilo Sauter | Thomas I. Strasser |
| 01/2017 - 12/2017 | Michael Heiss | Reinhard Pfliegl | Thilo Sauter | Thomas I. Strasser |
| 01/2018 - 12/2019 | Reinhard Pfliegl | Michael Heiss | Thilo Sauter | Torsten Andre |
| 01/2020 - 12/2020 | Michael Heiss | Thomas I. Strasser | Thilo Sauter | Torsten Andre |
| 01/2021 - 12/2023 | Thomas I. Strasser | Werner R. Drexel | Thilo Sauter | Torsten Andre |
| 01/2024 - | Werner R. Drexel | Daniel Watzenig | Thilo Sauter | Norbert Eidenberger |
Events and Activities
The following list shows an overview of past and future events and activities of the section:
Chapters, Student Branches, and Affinity Groups
The following list provides an overview of different groups of the section:
Links and Archival Documents
The following list proivdes important links and documents related to the section and its foundation:
