IEEE Central Indiana Section History
IEEE Central Indiana Section History | |
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Established date | 1912/01/12 |
IEEE Region | 4 |
IEEE Council | |
Geographic region | Central Indiana |
Region area | |
Principal cities | Indianapolis, Terre Haute, Lafayette, Bloomington |
Home page | http://www.cis-ieee.org |
List of Subsections in this Section
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Beginnings
By 1876 telegraph poles had lined our Main Streets for over thirty years. Down town some of our stores and streets utilized arclamps, invented in 1808, for lighting. The telephone had just been invented. In June of that year an event was held in Philadelphia that changed the world. The Centennial Exposition of Philadelphia in 1876 became an event that sparked the mind and generated new concepts and new ideas. Alexander Graham Bell exhibited his telephone invented only three months earlier, exhibitors were present with inventions and new developments of electrical equipment from both Europe and America. One of those attending the exposition was a Purdue University Professor of Chemistry Harvey W. Wiley. He had returned from the Exposition with one of the two European Gramme dynamoes that had been displayed. Its only use for several years was to power a class room projectors arc-light. It was not until 1885 that Professor of Physics Henry Augustus Huston offered a course in applied electricity that provided the first formal training in electrical science. This was not only the first in Indiana but one of the first such courses in the mid-west and marked the beginning of the new profession of electrical engineering.
The following year Edison invented the record player or phonograph. In 1879 he worked out the problems for a light that could be used in small homes and offices resulting in a successful incandescent light. Within a few months his Pearl Street Station was providing power in New York City for incandescent lighting. The telephone was growing as a communications tool. Numerous firms were manufacturing electrical equipment. It was in these circumstances that prompted the Franklin Institute to sponsor an International Electrical Exhibition at Philadelphia only eight years after the exposition.
It was during the planning for this exhibition that twenty-five prominent figures in electrical technology, including men like Edison, Elihu Thompson, Edwin Houston and Keith sent out a call for the organization of an electrical engineering society. On April 15, 1884 these men with five additional men met in New York City at the headquarters of the American Society of Civil Engineers. One month later on May 13, 1884 they again met and the American Institute of Electrical Engineers was born. The first president of AIEE to be elected was Norvin Green, president of the Western Union Telegraph Company. Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Alva Edison were among his six elected vice-presidents. Norvin Green was a native of Indiana, born in New Albany April 17, 1818.
AIEE
Our own section, the Central Indiana Section of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers was chartered on January 12, 1912. The first to be elected chairman was O.S. More. He served for two years and was followed by J.1. Wayne who served for three years. In 1917 H.O. Garman was elected chairman and the following year G.B. Schley became chairman. Following World War I J.1. Wayne became chairman, serving for three years. His successor was D.C. Pyke who served until 1924.
During the tenure of Mr. Pyke there were changes in the organization of the section and along with an elected chairman, vice-chairman and secretary-treasurer two members became members of the Executive Committee. The first Executive Committee appears in our records as Chairman D.C. Pyke, Vice-Chairman D.D. Ewing, Secretary-Treasurer C.A. Pfleiderer with C.F. Harding and J.1. Wayne members. The chairman of the section for each of the next three years were J.B. Bailey, C.A. Fay and H. Kessel. The year 1929-.30 saw J.B. Bailey serving again as chairman with lots of help from Purdue University with D.T. Canfield as vice-chairman and R.K. George on the Executive Committee, others on the committee that year were Secretary-Treasurer H.H. Stradling and S. Green, C.A. Fay and C. Brossman.
Mr. E.G. Ralston was chairman in 1930-31 with E.1. Carter chairman in 1931-32 followed by E.G. Thomas in 1932-33. For the period of 1933 through 1941 the following served as chairman; C.E. Chatfield, T.F. Irvine, C.A. Cora, F.1. Stanley, 1.G. Anderson, J.M. Webb, J.G. Harden and R.A. Scholl. In 1941 1.J. Dunnewald was elected chairman. There were ten others on the Executive Committee that year. In 1942 J.R. Pies was elected chairman. He served again in that position in 1947 completing a term started by W.H. Bollinger.
C.R. Swenson was chairman in 1943-44, C.E. Parks in 1944-45, S.C. Leibing 1945-46 and E.G. Hinshaw in 1946-47. In 1948 G.F. Switzer became chairman followed by C.M. Grabbe in 1949-50. The year 1950-51 found J.W. Sears as chairman with Purdue's S. Freeman, Jr. as vice-chairman. During their year four tours were held, ,six fine programs and a short course in Industrial Control offered. The year 1951-52 found C.A. Wilson as chairman and another good year of programs extending from one on the 'Situation in Britain' to the 'Industrial Significance of Atomic Power'. Plant tours included Western Electric, R.C.A. and Duncan. P.B. Ewing was chairman in 1952-53. The year 1953-54 found G.R. Guthrie as chairman followed by L.H. Wollenweber in 1954-55. E.E. Sterner, the chairman in 1955-56 had a variety of programs during his year including three plant tours and a short course on 'Engineering with Electronic Computers', others included programs on 'Hi Fi Reproduction' and on 'Guided Missles'. In 1956 T.W. Metz was elected chairman and during his year two plant tours were held and a short course on 'Nucleonics' offered, among other programs there were programs on transistors, city planning and solar energy.
The chairman for 1957-58 was J.R. Wark. Programs that year included tours of WFBM-TV station and Sarkes-Tarzian in Bloomington. A short course in 'Industrial Power Distribution' was also offered. Technical programs included Computers, materials and one on the Indiana Highway Program.
In 1958 L.V. Leonard was chairman and programs included tours, Dr. T. F. Jones, then Head of the Electrical Engineering Department of Purdue University and among others a program on 'Progress in Nuclear Power'. R.H. Jordan was chairman for the year 1959-60 and had programs including tours of Westinghouse Electric in Bloomington, Chrysler, The Nuclear Laboratory of Purdue University and Delco-Remy in Kokomo. A short course in Industrial Electronics was also offered. For the year 1960-61 F.S. English served as ch~man. During the year a short-course on lighting was conducted, plant tours included Anaconda Wire and Cable gp. in Marion, Link Belt Bearing plant and the I & M Electric Company's Fairbanks plant. Programs on the Post Office Automation and the Stock Market also proved interesting. C.B. Strickland was AIEE Chairman for 1961-62. Programs during that year included three plant tours including Cumins A Engine Co. of Columbus, a lecture on the 'Engineers Role in Politics' and one on 'Satellite Communications'. Chairman for the year 1962-63 was G.W. Hanafee and during the year there were four plant tours including one to the Naval Avionics Facility, among other programs was a discussion the AIEE-IRE merger and a program on 'Our National Space Goals'.
Prior to the merger with IRE the American Institute of Electrical Engineers Central Indiana section had fifty one and a half years of professional cooperation and education in our area. During most years nine or ten programs were offered that included three or four plant tours. Each year an attempt was made to offer a short technical course of some kind. Each course usually was for three or four.weeks meeting one night a week.
IRE
Up to the time of the formation of the IRE section in Central Indiana many working in radio, or as many used to say, "In other than 60 cycles" belonged to the AIEE and many even after the forming of IRE continued their memberships in both organizations.
The Institute of Radio Engineers resulted from the merger of two earlier organizations. The Society of Wireless Telegraph Engineers was begun in 1907 and had been organized in Boston, Massachusetts. It's failure to expand left only a few members when one Boston firm went out of business and another moved from the city. A second attempt to form an organization of radio engineers was by Robert Marriott in 1908. From his effort The Wireless Institute was formed on January 23, 1908. This group had an early growth but following a steady loss of members decided to proceed in another direction. This resulted in meetings with the two groups with an agreement to join each other. As a result on May 13,·.1912 the Institute of Radio Engineers approved a constitution and elected their first officers. Robert Henry Marriott was elected as president. He was a native of Ohio and a graduate of Ohio State University.
The Central Indiana Section of the Institute of Radio Engineers was formed by action of the Board of Directors of IRE on December 2 1936. Unfortunately there is no record, either in our section files or in the files of IEEE of the success or failure of the section during the years prior to and through World War II. If it was typical of IRE sections of that time it would have been a comparatively small group of radio broadcast engineers, recent college graduates working in the design and manufacturing of instruments and radio equipments, members of the telephone industry and perhaps one or two college instructors or professors. With the advent of World War II the radio industry went through a tremendous expansion both in new concepts and in people. It was certainly these new engineers with some of the older members of the profession that regenerated the section following the close of World War II.
The first recorded chairman of the Central Indiana Section was H.I. Metz for the year 1946-47. He was followed by R.E. McCormick who served as chairman for the three year period from 1947-50. He was followed by E.H. Pulliam who did not finish the year. G.H. Fathauer completed the year as chairman. In 1951 F. Dan Meadows became chairman and served into the 1953-53 term when R.R. Wolff took over and completed the year and then served as chairman through the year 1953-54. John T. Watson became chairman in the year 1954-55. He was followed by Arthur J. Schultz for 1955-56 and B.V. French for 1956-57. We have no recorded person serving as chairman in 1957-58.
In 1958 Donald M. Stuart became chairman. Mr. Stuart was Head of the Civil Aeronautics Authority (now F.A.A.), Research and Development Center at the airport. This group was very active in the community and in IRE. It was while Mr. Stuart was serving as chairman that the center received word that it was to be moved to Atlantic City, New Jersey. The activity did move but many remained in Indianapolis with the Hazeltine Corporation that took over the facility. One particular program during that year of 1958-59 was outstanding. It was on 'Inertial Guidance' and held at the Naval Avionics Facility, now known as N.A.C . Purdue University, as a result of the NESEP program had many U.S. Navy students studying electrical engineering. The Commanding Officer of the Navy unit at Purdue was a very active individual who encouraged students to get out in the community and participate in other than campus affairs. His encouragement resulted in a very large number of students making the trip to Indianapolis and attending the meeting. Regular attendees of IRE meetings reported that the 100 in attendance made it the largest number attending a regular meeting to that date.
The following year George Fraser became chairman of the section. From the first meeting of the year dinner meetings were held. This innovation to the section caused a rapid increase in attendance with many new faces welcomed. It was not surprising when later in the year attendance dropped some when one of the employing firms had a change in policy. Future claims for mileage and meals for attending seminars held locally would not be honored! However, it did make for good attendance while it lasted. The big meeting of the year was to be a program by Ron McFarland, President of IRE for that year. Dr. McFarland was also scheduled to be the principal speaker at a later date for the annual Engineers Banquet held in February of 1960. The section meeting was scheduled for the Veterans Memorial Auditorium and had received good publicity. A large crowd was anticipated. The weather, unfortunately did not cooperate. As is often the case during February a severe blizzard was raging that evening and only fifteen hardy souls were able to attend. For the Engineers Banquet the weather improved some what and attendance was much better.
In 1960 Stan M. Stuhlbarg became chairman, a position he held for two terms. Mr. Stuhltarg originated the section publication and the first issue of the Iniana Reporter for Engineers was published on June 1, 1961 with Eugene Montoya of R.C.A. as editor. Bob Graham soon became assistant editor. In June 1962 a banquet was h~d that was well attended. The high-light of the evening was the presentation of the Fellow Award to two of our members, Donald M. Stuart, former chairman and to Thomas F. Jones, who at that time was Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering at Purdue University.
Ron O. Whitaker served next as chairman for the year 1962-63 with Robert Olsen serving as vice-chairman and D.E. Behymer as secretary-treasurer.
IEEE History, 1963 - 1972
On September 12, 1963 the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers became a viable organization for the Central Indiana sections of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers and the Institute of Radio Engineers. The merger had covered many years of discussions and negotiations by many committees at the national level followed by much information to the sections keeping them informed of what was going on. Most sections he~ information programs or panel discussions regarding the merger. Following voting by all members and boards the merger was approved with an effective date of January 1, 1963.
Our central Indiana sections have operated under an academic year rather than a calendar year for many years and saw no reason to make changes in the operating year for the merger. In early 1962 the sections started planning for the merger and by fall of that year had come to some general agreements on procedures they desired to follow. First, to ease the transition dual officers would cover the period of January through June. Second, a nominating committee would be formed from each of the sections, both would then meet as one with instructions to meet as necessary and report their recommendations prior to January 15, 1963.
It is quite obvious that this committee worked long and hard to obtain a group of officers that would have the complete respect of all the members and be conscientious in the fulfillment of their responsibilities. As a direct result H. E. Roys from the RCA Records Division was elected as the first chairman of the section with H. A. Moench of Rose Polytechnic Institute as vice-chairman and J. R. Wark of Indianapolis Power and Light as secretary-treasurer.
Ed Roys had been as active member of IRE prior to his arrival in Indianapolis and had received his Fellow award prior to his arrival here. It is believed he was the only IRE member in the Central Indiana Section with the Fellow Award. Herman Moench had been active in both AlEE and IRE and Jim Wark had been an active AlEE member since his student days.
The first Executive Committee meeting of the new officers was held on the Purdue Campus, Indianapolis with sixteen members present. The purpose of the meeting was to appoin committee chairman and to act on recommendations regarding the Reporter. The staff of the reporter was to be six with a Managing Editor, Editor and Business Manager, each with an assistant. Two members of IRE had personally subsidized the Reporter during the previous months when other funds were insufficient. During this meeting it was agreed that it was not desirable for a member to assume such a loss and that the section should repay those involved as rapidly as possible. Other recommendations were made regarding the Reporter and the chairman asked two others to work with him on the problem. Mr. Stuhlbarg reported during the meeting on the activities of the Indianapolis Engineering and Society Committee (IESC) and the Indianapolis Scientific and Engineering Foundation, Inc. (SEF). Later in the same meeting Mr. Stuhlbarg was appointed qy Mr. Roys as Chairman of the Professional Societies Committee in order to coordinate the activity of IESC and ISEF with the IEEE.
The first section meeting of IEEE held on September 12, 1963 was at Butler University with dinner in the cafeteria. Professor William H. Hayt Jr., Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering, Purdue University was the speaker. His talk was on, "Where is Electrical Engineering Going". The October 10, 1963 meeting was an afternoon tour of the RCA Home Instrument Division. Other pro~rams during the year included one on dynagrove recording systems and on on touch tone dialing.
Region IV Director Dr. L. J. Giacoletto was present for the March 17, 1964 Executive Committee meeting and commended the section on its accomplishments and progression since the merger. During the last Executive Committee meeting for the year Chairman Roys reported on the the Professional Group meetings of the year. The Power Group had met once, the Audio Group four times, the Military Electronics Group twice and the Broadcast and TV Receiver Group twice.
In January the Chairman of the Engineering Education Committee proposed a short course on transistor circuits with a minimum donation to be required this~give those interested an opportunity 'to advance their education and perhaps raise some funds for the section. Robert Atherton of NAFI was to be the instructor. After some good planning and effort the course was approved and held. A donation of $10.00 per student was requested with registration limited to 100 students. A total of 130 signed up for the course with all but two or three completing it. A new class room was found to solve the limitation problem. This effort turned out to be a very successful project for all concerned and was the first of several courses given by Mr. Atherton.
Membership figures for the year were slow in arriving from Headquarters due to the different methods of record keeping utilized previously by AlEE and IRE. The section started the year with a recorded membership of 1033. The years was finished with 1,008 paid up members.
The year of the merger had proved to be a good year with many participating and much accomplished toward a continuing future. By-laws had been written, approved and published in the Reporter. Section meetings had been held regularly with an attempt to have all meetings on the second Thursday of the month. Executive meetings were scheduled regularly commencing at 7:30 P.M. and over between 9::00 and 9:30 P.M ..
The Reporter was published under the able Managing Editor E. Montoya. He was assisted by Assistant Managing Editor R. C. Grahrn. The Editor was D. H. Seal. The Assistant Editor was M. C. Mehta. The Business Manager was A. L. Adell assisted by experienced J. J. Breslin.
In 1964 F. E. Burley was elected chairman. Frank was with Western Electric at that time. His vice-chairman was David Bell from P. R. Mallory. The secretary-treasurer was R. Gelinas from the Naval Avionics Facility.
The professional groups were becoming better organized with firm plans for a good year ready prior to their first meeting. Early in the year Program Chairman and Chairman of the Professional Societies Committees D. H. Walston left the area and was replaced by J. M. Dixon.
At the end of the year Executive Committee meeting reports included: Membership, A very active Chairman J. Fred Peoples working on non-member meeting guests, through assistant members in the various plants and with considerable personal effort had the membership up to 1,110 paid up members; Treasurer, The year had started with $571.14 in the treasury and ended with $718.14; Programs, the programs for the year had been a success except for an afternoon plant tour that Chairman Dixon reported as a failure due to a small attendance; Student activities, Chairman G. L. Rainey reported a Papers Night program had not worked out as it was held too early in the year and Awards Chairman D. J. Angus reported that Sarkes Tarzian had been presented with his Fellow Award during the annual Ladies Night and Awards meeting and banquet.
In 1965 the section elected W. O. Montgomery of Public Service Indiana as chairman with Dr. C. C. Rogers of Rose Poly vice-chairman and J. Fred Peoples from the Naval Avionics Facility as secretary-treasurer. Jim Breslin was managing editor of the Reporter and had found it necessary to reduce the size of the bulletin to eight pages. This publication is now going to 1300 engineers and students. Changes in committees during the year included the resignation of Rick Gelinas from NAFI. Rick had been an officer and had been on several committees. His resignation as chairman of the program planning committee was necessary as he was moving from the community. Clyde Hoyt resigned as chairman of the education committee to be replaced by Ron Cruthers.
Programs during the year included Bob Kryter for Ladies Night with a discussion of World Travels. This proved to be a very interesting and informative program enjoyed by all. A tour of Duncan Electric in Lafayette completed the years program.
Professor George of Purdue University received the Fellow Award during the January meeting.
By the end of the year the Reporter was again in financial difficulties. Advertisements seldom bring in sufficient funds to cover publication costs. It is interesting to note that during these years the Reporter was financed to a great extent by education courses that not only improved the individual members knowledge but also gave extra funds to the section. Some of these courses were undertaken by the Power Group while most were undertaken by the section. A Stack Market course was presented over a four week period one spring and proved very successful.
In March of 1966 the section was contacted regarding the possibility of a Student Branch at Sam's Technical Institute. Student enrollment of 28 only three years earlier had grown to over a 1,000. Due to the type of school this posed a problem to the section, however it did investigate and followed through for several years on this request for information. First there was a refusal by Headquarters to authorize a branch as the school was not accredited. Later students were accepted as student members but without a local branch to associate with. For several years the section had many student members from the school.
The final program of the year under Chairman Montgomery had 129 in attendance.
J. Fred Peoples was chairman for the year 1966-67. His vice-chairman was R. K. Schuette and Charles E. Ohman was secretary-treasurer. Professional groups included the Power Group, Broadcast and T.V. Receiver Group, the Audio Group and the Aerospace and Electronics Systems Group. The Bloomington Subsection was ver active and during the previous year reported eight meeting held. Ralph F. Lasley was the elected chairman of the subsection for the year 1966-67.
As usual the Reporter was one of the first items to be discussed when the Executive Committee had its first meeting of the year and as a result a commercial organization was selected to edit and publish the Reporter. Ad-Pact was selected to do this work with a division of the advertisement fees for advertisements sold by them.
The Education Committee had proposed a course in "Logic Circuit Design and Application". Don Willis of NAFI was to be the instructor with 12 - 2.5 hour sessions. This was approved and a total of 71 eventually enrolled in the course that proved very popular and beneficial.
The section presented a Certificate of Appreciation to former chairman Ed Roys who had retired from the RCA Records Division and would soon be leaving the area.
Programs during the year included tours of the Butler University Clowes Hall, the Avon Railroad Yards and Esterline-Angus. A very interesting and thought challenging talk was presented in October by George McNelley, Head of the School of Technology at Purdue University. The Ladies and Awards Night was held in January with Fran Edwards presenting a program enjoyed by all. Average attendance for the ten meetings held was 81, with a high of 213 and a low of 35.
The year closed with a balance of $1,009.91 in the treasury and a vote for the continued publication of the Reporter.
For the year 1967-68 the section had selected Charles E. Ohman as chairman, David A. Diehl as vice-chairman and H. Burr Cullon as secretary-treasurer. Subsection and professional Groups had named the following to be their leaders: the Bloomington Subsection - Gerald L. Stout, Power Group - Robert W. Prather, Aerospace and Electronic Systems Group - Leonard Skwiera, Audio Group - Eugene Montoya and Broadcast and TV Receiver Group ~ J. A. Luksch.
It is interesting to note that through many of the years the Program Planning Committee has in their last meeting of the year presented a full schedule of programs to their successor committee and the incoming chairman. During many of these years the programs were so well planned and scheduled that printed, wallet size, program schedules were available at the first meeting of the new year and were closely followed for the year. Particularly during the early years of IEEE the Professional Groups assumed the responsibility for their group developing one or more programs for the year and then followed through with all the details and arrangements while cooperating with the committees concerned. During the June 13, 1967 meeting of the Executive Committee Ron Jennings, Chairman of the Program Planning Committee submitted a proposed programs list to the secretary. The list considered the ten scheduled meeting dates for the section of September through June for the second Thursday of each month. The list for the year 1967 contained a recommendation for no December meeting as the second Thursday came late in the month. Of the nine meetings scheduled only minor changes were made during the year.
For the year 1967-68 the Ad-Pact contract for editing and printing the Reporter was canceled and a new contract was signed with RASCO Products. At the same time advertisement rates for the Reporter were increased to $65.00 per page.
Engineering Education presented a short course on "Analysis Techniques" with R. O. Smith of Bell Labs the instructor. This course had seven - two hour sessions and the cost to those interested was a $10.00 donation.
J. Fred Peoples submitted the necessary petition to organize an Engineering Management Group and with the approval of the section submitted the documentation to Headquarters.
An interesting meeting was held on April 11, 1968 as a joint meeting with the Purdue Student Section. This meeting was organized and presented by the students to celebrate their 65th anniversary complete with a dinner, entertainment by the Purdue University Glee Club and the President of IEEE as speaker. This event is of further interest as it indicates student involvement in AIEE dating prior to the organization of the Central Indiana Section.
During the year the Power Group had arranged and conducted a very successful tour with the Power Group of the Cincinnatti Section. Sixty Indianapolis members participated in the joint tour of the Markland Generating Station.
Among other doings of the section during the year was to approve support of the "1970 Cement Conference". Good humor surrounded the original request as it appeared difficult to connect the cement industry with the electrical profession, so the endorsement was made in "name only". Later investigation and contact indicated that the cement industry does employ many electrical engineers and the endorsement was desired to indicate the overall importance of engineering in the industry.
The year ended with a balance of $882.00 in the Treasury and an actual cost to the section for the Reporter of $425.00.
On September 12, 1968 the 1968-69 year got underway with a tour of the RCA Picture Tube Facility in Marion, Indiana. The meeting started with a ham dinner at Emley's Fine Food Restaurant. The turn-out was very good and all present enjoyed the very well planned and conducted tour. This was the first program of the year for the new chairman, S. W. Shields. Bill was assisted for the year by Vice-Chairman Carlos Crane with Ron Cruthers as secretary-treasurer.
A color TV course was planned and presented by RCA engineers. There were eight sessions of two hours each. A donation of $15.00 was the desired cost of admission. This course brought $1,245.00 to the treasury of the section. Len Krugman had coordinated this course and the six instructors were all from RCA.
Over the years membership registration cards had been received from Headquarters. These were not only bulky but required much time to keep properly filed. The option was now given to sections to receive IBM register sheets or the cards, needless to say the register sheet option was adopted by the section.
Pete Schuh had taught one of the courses last year and had been awarded an honorarium. Along with the honorarium the board felt that as he was away from home many evenings his wife should also be rewarded and voted a gift of flowers for her. Later it was determined that the flowers could not be delivered as Pete was not married!
For this year THE REPORTER contract was let to Mr. Eldon Hawkins for a bid of $208.71 per issue plus composing service expense and postage. Mr. Jack Berlier reported that for the section the average monthly cost for '67-'68 had been $83.00 per month. It was during this year that the December issue of THE REPORTER was dropped as no longer required. As THE REPORTER was again not doing well financially a committee to be chaired by Jack Berlier was formed with three members of the Executive Committee to again review THE REPORTER in general and with specific attention to advertising.
Programs for the year, among others, included a tour of the Air Control Center at Weir-Cook Airport and a program on Oceanography. The June program was to feature Mayor Richard Lugar but had to be canceled due to a change in the Mayor's schedule.
A spurt in the growth of the section resulted in the commendation of the section by regional officers. This sudden growth was due largely to 300 students of Howard Sams who had applied for and received Student Associate memberships.
Our section awarded two Fellow Awards in January to Dr. George R. Cooper and Dr. Fritz J. Friedlaender both of Purdue University.
This year saw a regression among the various professional groups with several being inactive and unfortunately the Power Group was among these. The Power Group had been one of the best organized and functioning of the professional groups. It continually presented good programs and training courses but this year had been active for only one major meeting.
The section ended the year with a balance of $1,352.81. All members had worked hard this year and although at times some problems seemed insurmountable it could be called a very successful year.
Chairman David A. Diehl with G.G. Jensen as Vice-Chairman and James L. Jerrell as Secretarty-Treasurer were our officers for the year 1969-70.
Program planning for the year got off to a rough start when two tours planned for section meetings had to be canceled or drasticly modified due to changes in plant policy.
The first program of the year was held at the Beefeaters Restaurant on East Washington street with a very good turnout. The speaker was Mr. Tom L. Powers of Bell Laboratories in Indianapolis. He only recently had arrived in Indianapolis and had previously been with the Apollo program that had been successfully completed with a manned landing on the moon. Several excellent tours were included in the remainder of the years programs starting with the Otis Elevator Co. for October in Bloomington, the Ford Motor Company, Indianapolis, Transmission and Chassis Division in November, Ladies Night in January was a tour of the Indiana University Medical Center (For those participating this was a long to be remembered tour due to an extremely cold evening and the outside walks between warm buildings), the March meeting, sponsored by the Power group, was a tour of the Greentown Power Substation nine m~les east of Kokomo followed by a great dinner ( Steak, $4.50) and secton meeting with remarks by Director Region 4, Mr. Harry P. Brunke, the May meeting was a tour through Duncan Electric in Lafayette with particular emphasis on the the computerized calibration laboratory. The student meeting in April was held at Purdue University and presented by the Purdue students.
The Color Television course was continued with an offering of Color Television II with six-two hour sessions. This again utilized RCA instructors and proved again to be a popular course.
Dr. Benjamin J. Leon of Purdue University was presented with the Fellow award in January for his contributions to Circuit Theory and Engineering Education.
In the May 1971 issue of THE REPORTER a message from the Program Planning Committee Chairman Ronald Jennings and signed by the four members of his committee, comments, "In the wake of changing national priorities and a general economic slow down, the electrical-electronics profession is being confronted with many problems and challenges." This comment is only the first sentence of an excellent comment on the differences in our profession from what was, to the current day and to the prospects for the future. This brief quotation also represented the problems faced by our new officers for the year. James L. Jerrell was our Chairman, Len Krugman was Vice-Chairman and Robert W. Prather was Secretarty-Treasurer. It was to be a grueling with many decisions required, not only for the present but the future. There were the usual problems of how to finance THE REPORTER, finding programs that would get engineers out and how best to obtain more workers to help. Those and many other problems were faced and the challenges met.
Dr. King Sun Fu from Purdue University received his Fellow award during the February meeting.
A stand-out meeting and field trip on May 7, 1971 should bring back memories to those who attended. It is believed that this meeting was the only meeting of the section held outside the State of Indiana. Considering the time and distance the attendance was excellent. This meeting was held on a Friday, further making it unusual. The meeting was a trip to the University of Illinois Vermilion River Observatory with a tour and lecture presented by Dr. G. W. Swenson Jr .. Between the tour and lecture dinner was held at the Redwook Inn located on the Danville, Illinois airport. Great economic ingenuity and practical mechanical knowledge had been utilized in the building and operation of the two radiotelescopes installed. One was a 120 ft. dish telescope and the other was a 400' x 600' parabolic antenna with a focal length of 153 feet. It was a very interesting and educational tour with a very capable and well qualified speaker.
In 1971 Ron Whitaker, a past chairman of I.R.E., became Historian of the Central Indiana Section at the I.E.E.E. Ron, a very Dedicated engineer, was employed by the Detroit Allison Division of the General Motors ,Corporation. From September of 1971 to July of 1974 the historical record of our section was maintained in a precise and dedicated manner. It was essentially from this period that past records were brought together and a permanent record of our history established. During each of the years that Ron was the Historian a separate section regarding the history of the section for that particular year was prepared and bound with the copies of The Reporter for that year. These are available for review in the file of the Section Historian.
In 1971 W. R. Isom was elected Chairman of the Central Indiana Section of I.E.E.E. and the outstanding leadership of one of our finest engineers in the section soon became apparent. Mr. Isom or Rex as he preferred had replaced H.E. (Ed) Rays at RCA Records when Mr. Roys retired. Serving with Mr. Isom for the year were R. M. Richert of Bell Laboratory as Vice-Chairman and Bryce D. Drake of Western Electric as Secretary-Treasurer. Rex Isom was a leader that believed in getting people involved and through his efforts and friendly leadership the Executive Committee became a well rounded management team or Board of Directors of our section. From this committee came many of our chairmen and leaders for the years to follow. Those serving with the officers were Charles Ohlman, S. W. Shields, F. J. Friedlaender, C. W. Mitchell, R. O. Whitaker, Don Hendrickson, L. M. Krugman, Frank Burley, David Diehl, Robert K. Brown, E. A. Hilderbrand, Rodney Katz, Ron Cruther, Paul Reising and Richard H. Turpin.
The officers for 1972-73 year were Ronald F. Cruthers of the Naval Avionics Facility as Chairman, Dr. Clair D. McGillem of Purdue University as Vice-Chairman and Leonard M. Krugman of RCA Consumer Electronics as Secretary-Treasurer. Dave Diehl of Western Electric and S. w. (Bill) Shields served as Directors in another outstanding Executive Committee.
In 1973-74 Leonard M. Krugman of RCA Consumer Electronics was elected Chairman with Lloyd Riggs of Westinghouse Electric, Bloomington as Vice-Chairman. Harry Bostic of the Naval Avionics Facility was Secretary Treasurer. Dave Diehl and Rex Isom were Directors. This again proved to be an outstanding Executive Committee.
Starting in september of 1971 Executive Committee meetings were held in the conference room of RCA Records. The Committee always felt' welcome and at home in this conference room and many times were rewarded when records, no longer on the best selling lists, were made available for those attending to make a selection of their choice from records that covered the music spectrum.
Programs for the 1971-72 year were varied,and mostly technical. Satellites, efficient recycling of trash to create raw material, futuristic styling of home entertainment centers and pay TV were the topics of the technical programs. Tours of new developments at the IUPUI Medical Center and part of the Public Service Indiana, Pl~infield were both interestiI1g and educational. At the Medical Center an artificial kidney in operation was the highlight and in Plainfield demonstrations of the use of lead-acid batteries in various small vehicles and tools were demonstratea and discussed. A matter of increasing interest to engineers became the topic for a panel discussion for the November meeting. The conclusion of the historian attending the meeting was that, "Engineers may be very adept at analyzing technical problems falling within their field of training but they have great difficulty at coming to grips with social questions outside their technical field."
The programs for the 1972-73 year were well rounded and outstanding presenting something new and different from our own employment. They created interest and generated'. the comradeship so essential to our organization. A tour of the new Indianapolis Post Office started the year off. In October a joint meeting was held with the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics with Mr. Norm Driscoll, an experimental pilot with Vought Aeronautics, as an outstanding speaker. He carefully tied together the multitude of engineering projects, many from Indiana, and made everyone realize how important one small effort can be in the development of a complete aircraft weapons system. November saw a second tour of the year with a tour of the Delco Semi~Conductor plant in Kokomo. Ladies and awards nights were in January at the Columbia Club with Fellow awards going to Barton Kreuger of RCA and Professors Hughes and El Abiad of Purdue. The awards presentation was followed by a demonstration of a newly developed electronic organ using comp~er techniques. In February, Mr. Frank J. Kabat of the Phillips Company presented a fine technical discussion of an instrumentation of our atmosphere to find and measure air pollution. March brought another good technical meeting with Mr. Joseph Kenny of the Westinghouse Corporation discussing Fast Breeder Reactors. The April meeting was held in Terre Haute at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology where Mr. Rex Nader of Texas Instruments presented a program on digital electronic devices and computers. In May the program was by General Aviation Electronics, Inc. of Indianapolis. This program provided an outstanding example of what a small local company can accomplish with results that affect the entire private aviation field. The year was completed with the June meeting and a technical presentation by Mr. Joseph Wells of RCA discussing and presenting a demonstration of quadraphonic sound.
In the year 1973-74 programs consisted of three tours, two technical presentations, two, presentations relating to our profession, '500' meeting and an annual Ladies and Awards nights. Tours were of the LARS laboratory (Laboratory for Applications of Remote Sensing) in the Purdue Research Park, West Lafayette with a presentation by Dr. David Landgrebe and Mr. Terry Phillips, the Stout plant of Indianapolis Power and Light and a tour of the Weir-Cook Airport. Technical presentations were made by Mr. Earl W. Meyer of Chrysler speaking on 'Electronics in Automobiles' and by Mr. Richard E. Petersen with a presentation on "Future Bell Communications Systems."
The programs related to our profession were given by Tucker P. }mdawich, Vice President of Industrial Design for RCA speaking on "Designing the Products Which the Publc Will Buy Tomorrow". The second program was by John Kinn, Director Educational Services of IEEE, speaking on new benefits that IEEE is seeking for IEEE members as a class. During the May meeting at the Speedway, Bobby Unser was oaur speaker and source of information. He was described by our Historian as truly professional from outside our electrical circle/dedicated to his work, a credit to his professian and a credit to America. Ladies and Awards night saw the presentation of the Fellow award to. Dr. C. L. Costes, Head af the School of Electrical Engineering at Purdue. The evening was concluded with a presentation by RCA an Selectavision.
The remainder of this portion of our history will be direct quotes as made by our Historion, Ronald O. Whitaker following each of the three years he served as Historian.
Quotes on Section
"The year of 1971-72 saw the close of one era and the opening of a new. The military orientation of our profession faded. We turned to the creation of an all new civilization with futuristic transportation, a pollutionless environment, communication by sight and sound the world around, lasers, cryogenic power transmission, electric heating, electric cooling, and computerized living. From fashioning the weapons of destruction we have full turned to providing the means for construction construction of an electrical world af the future. The dislocations associated with our former activities have changed to relocations associated with our new employments. The closing of one era. The opening of a new."
"Under the inspiring leadership of our Chairman, Rex Isom af RCA, the Section has enjoyed a banner year. Each and every technical meeting was well attended. Subject material was always of interest to. the membership. Professional comradeship for our membership was provided by the social hours and dinners preceeding our technical meetings--and through the continued publication of THE REPORTER. For contributions to the advance of our technology the,Fellowship was awarded Dean Hancock of Purdue University. The year marked a technological first for the Section--in conjunction with IUPUI, a lecture series on linear integrated circuits was presented live in Indianapolis and via television in several nearby cities."
The Reporter
"A newsletter or other periodic publication does much to bind together the membership of a society. Publications such as our REPORTER are costly. But ,the fellowship engendered by THE REPORTER has always been considered sufficient to justify the expense. The struggle to finance THE REPORTER through the years has been difficult. But a way has always been found. The Section takes considerable pride in the fact that it is the only I, professional organization in this area to have such a printed publication. The technical year of 1972-1973 opened with the presidential election and closed with the Watergate scandal--its midpart brought the end of the Viet Nam war and the return of the POW's. It was a highly prosperous year with more cars, more houses, more air conditioners--more of everything than ever before. Our people waxing in all this opulence have cared little if any for historical events of the year. Perhaps this year has marked the zenith of our civilization. Our population is beginning to decline. Not for natural cause, but for lack of will of the people to curtail opulence in order to provide a succeeding generation."
"Such is the background over which the Central Indiana Section of the IEEE spread the activities of vlhat proved to be its most successful year. "
"This was the year of the crossroads., Should the IEEE continue as an organization whose sole purpose and interest should be to promote technological growth in the electrical field and fellowship amongst those working in the field--or should it become a labor union type organization similar to the AMA and ABA and use muscle to gain for its adherents a proportion of the gross national produce in excess of what can be earned in a free market. Pressures upon the national organization of the IEEE have moved it in the direction of the union."
"But in our local section the year saw strict adherence to the time honored purpose. Our meetings were all technical in nature. An Educational Committee was part of our Executive Committee. It sponsored a technical course to extend the technical abilities of our members. There was no committee attempting to fix salaries or limit the number of persons entering our professlon."
"And it was a banner year. With excellent meetings following hard upon each other's heels. With three of our members receiving Fellowship awards. With Rex 180m emerging triumphant at our last meeting with his quadrophonic sound. With Harry Bostic doing a superb job as Program Chairman. With Rob Katz editing a Reporter which stands as the best section publication in the nation. And with Ron Cruthers as Section Chairman leading us smoothly through the year."
Some Musings on Our Heritage
"In 1934 in the midst of the Great Depression our senior progenitor, the AIEE, celebrated, its 50th anniversary. For the occasion Charles F. Scott (President of the AIEE for 1902-03 and whose career spanned that first fifty years) published his reminiscences in the May issue of ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING. His paper tells of personal contacts with greats such as Steinmetz and Edison. Most interesting is his recounting of a heated debate at one technical meeting--debate on the nature of magnetic circuits. It seems strange to us that something now so well covered in elementary texts could ever have been matter for debate. "
"As electrical engineers we have a great heritage. Franklin gave to us our fundamental knowledge of static electricity. Explained atmospheric discharges. Discovered,the positive and negative nature of electricity. Volta opened the door to an all new world, when he discovered galvanic action and gave us steady electrical currents. Faraday, perhaps the tallest of them all, discovered the laws of electromagnetic induction-- rendering possible all our modern electrical generating equipment. Father of our electrical industry. Bell gave us the telephone. Maxwell, Hertz, and Marconi gave us radio. Zworykin -- television. Edison and deForest -- the vacuum tube. Shockley --the transistor. Mauchley--the computer."
"The things they did were great. Giving us an electrical industry which doubles every decade. Permitting our President to talk to men on the moon. But they were men like ourselves. Arguing heatedly in conferences. Having our same strength and frailties. As we note what they have done, we can note also the many things left for us to do."
"We must develop an electrical means of transportation which will move the gasoline automobile into the museum. We must provide the magnetic support and the propulsion system for an evacuated tube transport which will permit vehicles to accelerate at the limit of human endurance for the first half of a trip and decelerate at the same rate for the second half--the trip from Indianapolis to Chicago need require only 200 seconds. In computers--we must make them smaller and ever more powerful. We must match and surpass the human brain. To facilitate communication with computers we must convert all technology from the decimal numbering system to a binary derived system such as the octal--or preferably the hexadecimal system. In the field of solar energy we must succeed where other greats such as Ericcson and Goddard failed--we must develop the techniques for generating electrical power efficiently from solar radiation. And storing it."
"As electrical engineers we honor and pay homage to the men of our heritage by thinking and speaking respectfully of them and their accomplishments. And by writing bits such as this. But still greater honor and homage we may pay, to them by carrying forward their debates, their disc0veries, and their accomplishments. Realizing that each discovery broadens the horizon from which new discoveries may be made."
"Nothing binds the membership 'of our Section together more than does our publication--The Reporter. Time and distance prevent the vast majority of our members from attending more than a few of our meetings. But to each of us the arrival of The Reporter each month is a reminder that we are members of the Section. Members of the largest professional society in the world. Now in its fifteenth year. The Reporter has attained a high degree of excellence. Costly to produce. Schedules which strain the nervous system of all apsociated therewith. No blood. But much sweat. And once in a while a tear. But the pride in this publication which has sustained it through fifteen years will sustain it another fifteen. And on beyond that."
"Ever changing. Ever evolving. That is life. And the IEEE is a part of life~ The year of 1973-1974 brought a transition to our institution. From emphasis on increasing the amou.nt of engineering we can contribute to society to emphasis on what stipend we may. exact from society for engineering which we do; And so the change has come. More and more our meetings become social gatherings. More and more we turn to the various trade magazines for information on technological advances. Less and less to the IEEE Journals. The old order changeth. 'Yielding place to new."
"It was a year in which the first effects of depletion of our natural resources were felt. A shortage of petroleum. Metal shortages. It was a year in which purchases abroad became difficult -- because of the fall of the dollar. And the first abortive revolt was launched by the Symbionese Liberation Army. With its "Boston Massacre" being staged in Los Angeles. "
"But still there was technical progress. The cost of computers continued to drop. The microcomputer was introduced. We continue to move from an analog world to a digitized world. Semiconductor memories now replacing core. The new electronics moving into many fields other than communications to which it was first almost exclusively confined. Now in automobiles. Computers now talking to us vocally, forming the words from the basic phonemes."
"Food, shelter, and clothing -- the three essentials for life as we were taught in school those many years ago. But Farady, Edison and Shockley have added a third. Surely life as we know it today could not continue without electric power. So very essential to our civilization. More so than the automobile. Great indeed has been the contribution of our predecessors."
"The past is known. For the future there is only hope. Hope that our profession will' continue to make ,the contributions which are to be made similar in nature but more advanced over those which our predecessors made and those which we have made. "
"It was a quiet year. The Section ran smoothly under the able guidance of Len Krugman, our Chairman. Younger faces appeared on the Executive Committee -- a welcome sign that our Section is moving into the future. Much can be expected in years to come of John Boyer, Harry Bostic and the many others of this new generation. They are capable."
"Meetings were all very well attended. There indeed is comradeship in our profession. Members of the Section have received similar educations. We talk the same. We think the same. But we are different from the others with whom we mingle in our daily lives. And so it is pleasant one night each month to get tog~ther with others of our kind. While our national organization with its many.publications and professional groups provides for our technological needs, the local section provides the gatherings where we can relax in the comradeship of our fellows."
"Our publication, The Reporter, maintained its high standard of excellence. It continues through the years to remind each member of the Section that he is not forgotten. To the many who because of time and distance find it difficult to attend meetings, The Reporter extends the hand of fellowship."
IEEE, 1974 - 1984
For the year 1974-1975 the Section elected, from Purdue University, Professor Clare D. McGillem as Chairman, Harry D. Bostic of the Naval Avionics Facility as Vice Chairman, Robert K. Brown of Public Service Indiana as Secretary and John W. Boyer of Western Electric as Treasurer. This group of elected officers, along with Ken Barr as Managing Editor, and Pat Jerrell as Editor of THE REPORTER soon proved the confidence placed in them by the members. It was to be another good year with good meetings, good seminars, and people working together for the benefit of all.
Dr. McGillem in his opening remarks in THE REPORTER, as Chairman, stated, "Congratulations are certainly in order for Ken Krugman and his staff who did such an outstanding job in the management and operation of the Central Indiana Section for the year just completed. The past year has been another in a long standing sequence in which progress has been steadily upward and the Section has steadily improved." Dr. McGillem then proceeded to continue the sequence.
Both the Power Engineering Society and the Bloomington Sub-Section got off to a good start with complete schedules for seven meetings each with time, date, place and the topic for the meeting.
Along with the annual May meeting at the Speedway, a tour of Westinghouse-Bloomington proved to be the most popular for the year. Another tour that- proved popular and educational was a tour of Delco-Remy in Anderson.
Considering the distance to Anderson an attendance of 49 was considered excellent, those making the trip were not only rewarded with an educational tour but had an opportunity to meet and talk with some of our members that all too often we have not had the opportunity of meeting. Although many drove to this meeting the delegation from West Lafayette arrived in style on a flight from Purdue Airport, thanks to an offer made by Professor Hannis Thompson to fly the group to Anderson. Thanks also had to go to Anderson members for providing ground transportation at Anderson.
Other meetings during the year included Police Communication, Home Security Systems, Medical and Dental School Modern Instructional Media, the Engineer and Engineering in the Real World at Rose-Hulman in Terre Haute, Electric Power Research and a meeting on Programmable Calculators.
The Engineering Management Group was also active with one of their programs featuring Captain E. G. Buck USN (Ret) who at the time was serving as Director of Industrial Liaison for the Indianapolis Center for Advanced Research (ICFAR).
One of the major administrative projects for the year included a study and complete rewrite, of the By-Laws of the Section. These were adopted in June of 1975.
In 1975 an experienced group of officers were elec,ted for the 1975-1976 year. These were, as Chairman, Harry D. Bostic; as Vice-Chairman, Robert K. Brown; as Secretary, John W. Boyer and as Treasurer, Gerald D. Waltz.
Ken Barr continued as Managing Editor of THE REPORTER with Pat Jerrell as Editor.
Again the May meeting at Speedway proved to be the most popular meeting of the year. Roger McCluskey, a very popular driver, was our speaker. The attendance reported was 115 members with 61 guests for a total meeting attendance of176. The second most popular meeting of the year was in February with our popular and respected Past Chairman, Rex Isom, presented for our 'Honors, Awards and Ladies Night' a program on the 'History of Recording'.
Tours for the year included Essex International, Power Conductor Division in Lafayette, Micro Electronics Failure Analysis Labs at the Crane Naval Weapons Center and the Air Traffic Control Center, Indianapolis.
Lecture programs included meetings on 'Ultra Sound in Medical Applications', 'World's Energy Sources and their Reserves', 'Magnetic Materials', 'Holography' and a panel discussion on 'Utility Notes and Regulations'.
In May Chairman, Harry Bostic, called for a Planning Meeting to be held on May 20 and asked for designated representation of the following activities to attend: the Section, the Bloomington Sub-Section and from the active chapter, the Power Engineering Society, Engineering Management Society, Circuits and Systems Society, Computer Society and Engineering in Medicine and Biology Group.
The June issue of THE REPORTER contained a particularly important comment on the times with an Editorial entitled, "Ethics and the Electrical Engineer" written by John McNett, Chairman, Professional Activities Committee stressing the importance of a high standard of ethical conduct necessary for an engineer.
On July 21, 1976 the first show to be presented by the Central Indiana Section of the I.E.E.E. was held. One hundred twelve members and 548 guests attended. This 'no charge' show offered 24 exhibits and was held at The Holiday Inn, 21st and Shadeland. There could be no question the show was a success.
For 1976-1977 another outstanding group of officers had been elected. They were Chairman, Robert K. Brown from Public Service Indiana; Vice-Chairman, John W. Boyer from Western Electric; Gerald D. Waltz as Secretary from IPALCO and for Treasurer, Rodney S. Katz from the Naval Avionics Facility. THE REPORTER was under the very able management of Ken Barr from RCA and Harry Bostic from the Naval Avionics Facility.
The two programs that had the greatest attendance were both held at the same location the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Motel. The first of these was the Annual Awards and Ladies Night with Dr. Leslie A. Geddes of Purdue University speaking on "The Measurement of Blood Pressure". This was a joint meeting with our Engineering in Medicine and Biology group. In May the annual trip to the track brought out 114 members and 52 guests. This also was a joint meeting, this time with the Institute of Environmental Sciences. Again we were permitted, for a few minutes, to become a driver on the most famous track in the world, although at a very reduced speed and well regimented. Following the drive and prior to the meeting,. we were again permitted to visit 'Gasoline Alley'. Lloyd Ruby, a well known and popular driver, was our speaker for the evening.
That our May meeting be held at the 'track' is by now traditional. Certainly this particular meeting, year after year, brings out more members than any meeting of the year. This is often a joint meeting shared with another professional group, the result being an opportunity to meet new friends and gain new knowledge. Our opportunities are unlimited as we walk in Gasoline Alley and see these miracle machines in all states of assembly and repair. The drive on the track, when permitted, even at forty miles an hour is simply awe-inspiring. The evening's program has varied from a movie of the previous year's race with commentary by a driver of that race to very learned talk by well-dressed driver-engineers. I am certain this will continue to be a very popular program for as long as race cars can be driven at the 'track'.
The first program of the year was on Radio Controlled Modeling held at the Beacon Restaurant. During this program several of our members and their friends talked about and demonstrated radio controlled models of boa~s, a helicopter and planes of many sizes and shapes. It was a very interesting program showing how many engineers combine the knowledge of their work with a hobby.
Three other tours were presented during the year all with excellent turn-outs and all very educational. There was a tour of the Indianapolis Museum of Transportation and Communication at Forest Park, Noblesville; Chrysler PlantTour at 30th and Shadeland and a tour of the Indianapolis Police and Fire Communications Center.
Other section meetings held were programs, as follows: Indianapolis Police Department Crime Laboratory, Dr. David L. Slotnick speaking on 'Current Frontiers in Digital Electronics Technology' and Dr. Samuel F. Hulbert, President of Rose-Hulman, speaking on 'Material Shortages of the Late 70's'.
The Microcomputer Show in only its second year utilized 5,000 square feet of show space at the Holiday Inn 21st and Shadeland to present 'Expo 77'. Early registration found 660 registering but over 750 showed up to attend the show, again a big success.
In Terre Haute planning was underway for a new student chapter at Indiana State University but unfortunately these plans were not successful and no new chapter was developed.
The year was started in September with a cash balance of $9,048.83 and 1,129 members in the Central Indiana Section.
Plans over the year resulted in many seminars and training courses. The Professional Activities Committee, under John McNett, sponsored an all day seminar on 'Opportunities, Options and Obligations' on November 13. This program had many excellent speakers from various professions, who came from allover the United States. Paid attendance was 18 with a total attendance of 24. The attendance figure caused Chairman Bob Brown to comment in the January issue of THE REPORTER that, "Surely in a Section which numbers over 1,200 members, 100 could have found time to attend the seminar." A 'Micro Computer Course with Workshop' was presented later in the year via TV to 13 locations and 6 workshops. Over 10,000 brochures were mailed advertising this course. This particular course resulted in a net income to the Section of $2,300 .43. The Power Engineering Society presented two short courses during the year. The first was very timely and one that many more should have attended. It was to provide members with an authoritative source of information about nuclear power plants. The P.E.S. further stated that, "this type of activity should be of significant value if nuclear power plants become a major political issue in Indiana."
In June Jerry Heydt, Purdue Student Chapter Advisor, reported on student activities and commented, "A massive membership drive is planned for September. The objective is to enroll everyone and his brother and sister in IEEE. The Purdue Chapter is the largest student chapter in the world."
This, year marked the first active participation in affairs of the Section by some of the ladies. We hope they will continue to serve their profession and grow with the section. I wonder who she will be and when our Section will elect its first lady chairman!
In July of 1977 the second Microcomputer Show was held by our section at the Holiday Inn East. This again was an outstanding success with attendance near the 1,000 mark. The show was again under the guidance of Harry Bostic and Eileen Tabach, both from the Naval Avionics Facility. The show continues to gain in popularity and expand. It is a tremendous effort for a one day event.
For unknown reasons but probably due to many other clubs and activities following the same procedure, along with the fact that we do have many fine academic persons in our Central Indiana Section, our section has always operated on the academic year basis compared to an annual basis of the calendar year. Each basis has its advantages and disadvantages but only once over the years have I found any evidence of an attempt to change.
September 27, 1977 started the new year for our section with a meeting at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The topic was 'Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence' by Professor Robert E. Machol of Northwestern University. This very interesting program brought out 42 members with 25 guests for the evening.
Our officers for the year were Chairman, John W. Boyer; Vice Chairman, Gerald D. Waltz; Secretary, Dr. Ben V. Leon and for Treasurer, Ken Barr. Another excellent group of leaders.
One of our basic efforts, as a professional organization, has been to help each other to improve in his profession. To that end result one of the most important appointments any Chairman ever makes is that of Chairman of the Engineering Education Committee. It is the responsibility of that Committee Chairman to assist in the continuing education of our members. Considerable flexibility is normally granted to the committee toward the success of this effort. Cooperation with other activities: academic, military and commercial is most important. Many courses cover new developments or trends, others update existing courses or legal codes. The Power Engineering Society courses provide a continuing education in their important field. The PES courses have consistently been outstanding and of benefit to all who spent the time to attend. During the 1970s there were rapid developments in engineering. Microchips and computers became common words and the Central Indiana Section was on top of these developments with good section programs and outstanding courses. Each and every member that participated in the preparation or presentation of a course or in any way assisted in the presentation of a course is to be commended for his effort. Classes grew from a few to many, courses grew in number and importance and from office conference rooms to classrooms, etc. to statewide television coverage. Frank E. Burley, a Past Chairman, corporate researcher and engineer and now a Professor has commented on the period as "The Golden Years of the Section".
Continuing education remains an important part of our section's activities and is a necessity for each and every member. Failure to obtain and continue to maintain current technical knowledge leaves an engineer in a position where personal growth is impossible.
One of the most popular courses ever presented by the section was "The Intrqduction to Microcomputers" presented by Don Weidner o;f the Naval Avionics Facility to 276 attendees in 1977 over the IHETS TV network. This was followed in 1977-1978 with a Microcomputer Systems and Application course by Don over the same materials. These courses were repeated with reruns, abbreviated for seminars and some topics even sold to other activities.
Many of the courses presented by the section were administered hy the IUPUI Division of Continuing Studies with Dr. Marvin Needles as coordinator, many courses also had co-sponsors to further expand the area of coverage for participants.
The September 1977 issue of. THE REPORTER was almost entirely limited to various technical course announcements and comments. It was indeed, "The Golden Years".
The Computer Society of our section was Qrganized during the 1976-1977 year under the leadership Dr. Dr. Phillip Swain of Purdue and this year became an active participant in the activities of the section.
Our show experience continued to grow with our participation, with the Electric League of Indiana, in a two day, November presentation of EXPO-77, Electric and Electronics Show, in the Indiana Convention Center.
Tours again prove popular events for a section meeting. In Octoher it was the Chevy Truck Plant following dinner at McClarney's. The annual Speedway tour was followed by dinner with race driver Tom Sneva as speaker. In June it was a long but very educational hike with a tour through the Western Electric Plant on Shadeland following dinner in the plant cafeteria. There had been tours, of Western Electric before but none as complete as this one. The power plant, in detail, was one of the last stops of. the tour.
Other programs included Battery Technology, Computer Comography and the EXPO-77 program with Dr. James Coughlin speaking on Nuclear Power.
The March program was co-sponsored by the Computer Society and had Dr. Ryszard S. Michalski, an Associate Professor from the University of Illinois, as speaker. The evening could have been one of the greatest events ever for a single section meeting as it was held at the Kendall Inn with great fanfare. An early and continued plea for accurate and timely reservations for the promised 'Royal Roast' -- a whole roast pig -- had gone unheeded and with 82 showing up for the meeting the room size proved inadequate and serving of the 'roast' for a very inadequate reservations list became a problem.
The April meeting was at Purdue University and co-sponsored by the Student Branch. Dr. King-sun Fu was the speaker.
For the third time the annual IEEE Indy Microcomputer Show was held at the Holiday Inn East. This show, held on July 26, 1978, again proved a popular event.
Other events of the year marked a change from a purely local organization to more interest in national events and discussions. Our own PAL Chairman, John McNett, published a long but thoroughly researched comment on, "The Case Against Universal Registration". This was followed in THE REPORTER with another article on "The Case for Registration". The subject was widely discussed and the section presented the results of a referendum to our national.organization. One of our course topics was selected for use at MIDCON and received good response. Another event of the year was the change in the name of The Naval Avionics Facility, Indianapolis, to The Naval Avionics Center. A tragic home accident saddened the section when long-time loyal member Jim Sugioka was killed only two days after attending the March meeting. Jim was a missionary, a minister, purchasing agent and engineer, as well as a great family man and friend.
The year 1977-78 was a good year with active participation of the members and a lot of events happening. The year had started with $11,681.99 in the treasury and ended with $8,217.21.
A meeting to conclude the 1977-78 year and to prepare for the 1978-79 year was held in July with reports that at least five courses were ready for the fall. The Bloomington sub-section reported 109 members with an average attendance at meetings of 20.
Radio Station WIRE featured newly elected Chairman of the Section, Jerry Waltz, as their "Man of the Day" and gave Jerry, engineering and our section some valuable public relations. Don Huizinga did the good work on this promotion.
Officers for the 1978-1979 year were Gerald D. Waltz, as Chairman; Dr. Ben J. Leon, as Vice-Chairman; Phillips Ballantyne, as Secretary and Robert D. Adams, as Treasurer with Harry D. Bostic as Editor of THE REPORTER. A good hard working group with lots of excellent experience.
The year's program started off with a tour of the Naval Avionics Center that proved a great success; over 200 were reported to have turned out for this event that followed an excellent dinner in the Center's Cafeteria. Other tours of the year included a tour of RCA Records following dinner at the Marriot Inn and a tour of Delco Electronics at Kokomo following dinner at the Ramada Inn. The tour of the track again proved popular with a near record turnout for dinner at the Motor Speedway Motel.
The October meeting of the section was one of local talent and proved again that within the area we have our own highly qualified and respected community leaders. Mr. Zane G. Todd, Chairman of the Board and President of IPALCO spoke to us on the timely subject of 'Fundamental Economics of Electrical Utilities'. Mr. Todd is a 'Fellow' in our section of IEEE.
In November our meeting was co-sponsored by the Circuits and System Society and was a talk by J. R. Stauffer of Bell Labs on "Lightwave Transmission Systems for Telecommunications Application".
In February it was a presentation on 'Orbital Flight' by NASA Astronaut Gerald P. Carr. A futuristic program on Computers and Society by Sperry Univac Scientist Earl Joseph was our l1arch program. In April we traveled to Rose-Hulman for our annual meeting with a student branch. Don Fitzpatrick, Chief Engineer, Allen-Bradley, was our speaker. This former professional musician and Purdue Engineering Professor presented an outstanding talk with humor and knowledge that inspired the students and made all present proud of their profession.
During the year Vice-Chairman Dr. Ben J. Leon of our section ha.d been elected IEEE Vice-President for Educational Activities and with his new position the section gained in national prestige while having direct communication on national events.
The Fourth Annual IEEE Indy Microcomputer Show had grown to the extent that more power and more space was required than could be provided by the Holiday Inn East and was moved to the Sheraton East Motor Inn. The show was held on June 28, 1979 and again proved a successful presentation for our section with over 1100 people attending the one day event.
The year ended with $3,730.23 in our Treasury.
The officers nominated and elected for the year 1979-80 were Dr. F. J. Friedlaender as Chairman; Phillips Ballantyne, as Vice-Chairman; Robert D. Adams, as Secretary and Dr. M. A. Needler as Treasurer. Mr. Harry D. Bostic continued as Editor of THE REPORTER. The Bloomington sub-section reported Harold Sabbagh as Chairman for the year with Steve Willougby as Vice-Chairman and Kevin Sosby as Secretary/Treasurer. It was good to see Dr. Sabbagh as Chairman of the sub-section as he has been a very active member of our section. Originally from West Lafayette he followed in his father's footsteps in Electrical Engineering and as a Professor. At Rose-Hulman he coordinated the Student Branch and was responsible for some very good programs. He recently had moved to the Bloomington area where his dynamic interest in his profession will continue to benefit his profession and the CIS of IEEE.
Programs for the year included the annual Ladies a,nd Awards Night and the annual meeting at the Speedway. The Ladies and Awards meeting turned out to be slightly different than anticipated. Our program was entitled, "Yes, You Can Hear the Difference" to be presented by HiFi Buys. The meeting was held at The Holiday Inn East. For those arriving on time the streets were clear with the weather threatening. As the meeting continued there were reports of problems. Yes, we had problems. Our program was not on the calendar of the presenter and it wasn't until the afternoon of the program that a commitment was realized by them; unfortunately the equipment for their presentation was committed until late afternoon. As a result the program became a problem. With rumors of the weather everything was rushed resulting in a very brief awards meeting with a brief program that was interrupted with the public address system of a neighboring room becoming a part of our program. By adjournment those who had arrived on time were surprised to find a four to six inch deposit of snow as they left. Not an unusual occurrence for this time of year but nevertheless a problem for those who had a distance to travel.
The first programs of the year had been on problems of interest in our national organization. In September Bruno O. Weinschel, Vice-President of IEEE for Professional Activities talked on current events involving serious engineering problems of our time. October brought Dr. James Brittain, IEEE History Committee Chairman to talk on Thomas A. Edison.
In November our Chairman arranged for Dr. Andrew H. Bobeck of Bell Labs to talk on "Bagnetic Buhbles". In the January issue of THE REPORTER Dr. Friedlaender reports on his visit to Poland as a guest of the Polish Academy of Sciences. A very interesting and educational report by our Chairman on a part of the world that but few of us have had an opportunity to visit.
Our January meeting was presented by Hagnavox on the subject of "Magnivision Videoscope System". In February a joint meeting with the Computer Society was held at "The Trails" in West Lafayette with the subject being "Microcomputer Systems, a Look at the Top of the Line," For those who attended it was a great education; unfortunately many of those presenting their products for display would rather have been elsewhere.
The April meeting was held on May 1 and was a joint meeting with the Chapter on Medicine and Biology. It also was held in West Lafayette. This meeting was a tour of the Purdue University Biomedical Engineering Center. In the May issue of THE REPORTER the Power Engineering Society announced their 1980-81 meetings. The last meeting of the 1979-1980 year Was held at the Sheraton East and was presented by Electronics Associates of New Jersey. It was a discussion on "The Modern Hybrid Analog-Digital Computer" by Mr. J. Paul Landauer of that corporation.
It had been another good year with many interesting and educational programs.
Over the years presentations of the Engineering Education Committee had involved cooperation with many activities. The intent 0:1; our section and the IEEE had been to assist in the education of our members. Working with s.o many different organizations usually created problems, however. Differences had cropped up and settlement of accounts had often been difficult. Toward the end of 1979-80, agreements had finally been reached and funds. due the section had been received. The year had started with a balance of only $3,730.23. The year ended with a balance of $20,563.23. The Engineering Education Comittee was credited with $13,210.82 of this as income.
The year 1980-81 started with our first section meeting at the Holiday Inn East with a technical presentation by Dr. George E. Smith, Head of MOS Device Department of Bell Labs, Murray Hill, New Jersey. His talk was entitled, "Integrated Circuits Using One Micro Linewidths. For many it was a talk of the future.
Our officers for the year were Phillips Ballantyne, Chairman; Robert D. Adams, Vice-Chairman; Ken Barr, Secretary and Dr. David A. Landgrebe, Treasurer. John W. Boyer and Gerald D. Waltz served as Directors and the Editor of THE REPORTER was Harry D. Bostic.
The Bloomington sub-section had elected Harold Sabbaugh as Chairman, John P. Wentworth as Vice-Chairman and Kevin Sosbe as Secretary/Treasurer.
Many courses were announced for the year to provide valuable training and instruction for those looking to their own future. From Purdue Dr. Elliott, writing for Continuing Engineering Education offered IHETS TV courses in Basic Management Skills for Scientists and Engineers, Manufacturing Quality Control and Fundamentals of Engineering Review. The Power Engineering Society offered training in Substation Engineering. The Purdue University School of Engineering and Technology at Indianapolis with co-sponsorship by our section offered a Microcomputer/Microprocessor Workshop course (complete with a microcomputer) and an Introduction to Digital Circuits course with a workshop, There is something to learn in these offerings for any engineer with costs to fit the pocketbook from $10 to $450.
Phil Ballantyne in his - from the chairman - urges all to participate in voting for our IEEE officers and in another column reports on the passing of a high school slide rule competition held by the University of Texas (Austin) for 46 years. The world changes! How long has it been since you have seen this status symbol of our profession dangling from a belt or a 4" or 6" tucked away in a pocket? Even with a computer on the desk, your historian will wager that there are still many slide rules in the desk -- just in case!
September, among many other events, saw a tour of Public Service Indiana's Marble Hill Nuclear Generating Station. This tour, sponsored by the Power Engineering Society, was on a Saturday and conditions were strictly 'under construction' but over 180 were there.
Five tours enlightened our members attending section meetings; with joint sponsor the Power Engineering Society we toured the Detroit Diesel Allison plant; in November it was Laboratory Automation and a tour of Eli Lilly and Co.; in February, with a program for our spouses, we toured RCA following a fine dinner in the plant; in May it was our annual tour of the 500 track and then in June it was a tour of the Westinghouse Electric Large Power Transformer Division in Muncie.
Other programs for the year were on electronic mail by Dr. J. L. Devilbiss with the Computer Society as a co-sponsor; electric vehicles, by Prof. Larry Ogborn of Purdue and one on robots by Tom Foltz, President of Total Systems Incorporated during a meeting co-sponsored by the student section of Rose-Hulman at Rose-Hulman.
Interesting comments in THE REPORTER were written about the student branch at Rose-Hulman and the school they attend, the IHETS TV System by Charles S. Elliott, on IUPUI by Ben J. Keller and one entitled, "It's Hard ~o Keep a Good Man Down" also by Prof. Keller, the 'good man' being Frank Burley, a ,destined member, active on many committess and former chairman.
The fifth IEEE/Indy Microcomputer show was held on June 30, 1981 with more space, more displays, more technical sessions and more people attending. This again 'proved that the Central Indiana Section of IEEE is a 'can do' group.
At year's end our treasury indicated a balance of $20,741.47 thanks to continued success in training courses and a great willingness to work and cooperate by' all. The treasurer's report was always on time and in precise order by our treasurer, Dr. David A. Landgrebe. His use of a home computer and printout was a first.
I will have to repeat -- it was another good year.
In July 1981 two of our most experienced members became our Chairman and Vice-Chairman. Each had worked his way to section leadership by willing cooperation with previous officers and faithful attendance at section activities. Bob and Ken had served on, or worked closely with, every committee of the section. Bob had greeted us for many of the meetings for some period of time while serving on the Hospitality Committee. Ken had worked hard and mostly by himself in accomplishing the various tasks of keeping THE REPORTER functioning as the important communication link of our section. Our chairman for the year was: Robert D. Adams with Ken Barr serving as Vice-Chairman. They were ably assisted by Dr. David A. Landgrebe as Secretary and Greg A. Head as Treasurer. Directors were Gerald D. Waltz and Dr. Marvin A. Needler. Harry Bostic continued as Editor of THE REPORTER.
The month of September indicated considerable planning had been accomplished during the summer holiday. Dr. Elliott of Purdue announced the schedule for the Continuing Engineering Education courses for fall presentation over the IHETS TV network. There were seven courses available, three being popular courses repeated by request and four new courses. The Power Engineering Society published their annual schedule of events and announced their fali short course on "Electric Cars and Batteries". Other groups were well along with their planning and most had published at least one scheduled event. Kevin Sosbe had been elected Chairman of the Bloomington sub-section and promised an active program there.
The first program of the year was a tour of the Ransburg Corporation with emphasis on robots. Dinner was in the plant, followed by remarks from Mr. Milo Friesen, President of Cybotech. A good crowd was present and the evening was enjoyed by all. In February, spouses' night, we toured the Indianapolis Center for Advanced Research following a good dinner at the La Scala restaurant. In April our joint meeting with a student group was at Purdue and following dinner at the Union we toured the "Purdue Computer Aided Design and Graphics Laboratory". Dr. D. C. Anderson, Director of the Laboratory, briefly discussed the laboratory and its function. Mechanical Drawing 101 was certainly a long way off when you saw complicated design changes made with ease by a computer. In May we toured the track with dinner at the Speedway Motel and, as usual, it was a memorable event. The last regular meeting of the section for the year was also a tour with a joint meeting with the Bloomington sub-section. This tour was of the Indiana Bell Electronic Switching Facility in Bloomington. There was no dinner planned for this event.
For two years the section had cooperated with the Electric League of Indiana and their Expo '81 that was presented in the Indianapolis Convention Center. The event scheduled for November was on our schedule as a regular section meeting and many did attend. Unfortunately, the planned dinner had to be cancelled due to a lack of response.
Other section meetings of the year were on "The Interconnect Industry" by Norm Boman of Executone Inc. of Long Island City, New York; "High Quality Cables" by George Rakos of Hendrix Cable, New Hampshire and "Applications of Network Personal Computers in a Real Time Lab Environment", a joint meeting with the Computer Society, with Kenneth A. Sherwin of TRW Ross Gear Division, Lafayette and Asst. Professor J. Michael Jacob/School of Technology, Purdue.
During this year many changes took place in the way we did things and in the outside activities of the section. After many years of presenting an annual Microcomputer Show that had always proven successful, the show had outgrown the usual facilities and recent competition had entered the field. Although the show had made $2,300 for the section in June of 1981 it was realized that some changes were required. After much discussion and several committee meetings, it was agreed to form a new show. The Central Indiana Section of I.E.E.E. joined in an agreement with the National Electronic Distributor Association (NEDA) and the Electronic Representative Association (ERA) to plan for and present Indycon '82. Each group was to furnish three directors, with one of the IEEE Directors to be the Seminar Director. The first Indycon was held August 24 and 25, 1982 in the Indianapolis Convention Center and was a success.
Changes in the section resulting from Executive Board action were the appointment of Dr. Marvin Needler to replace Dr. Fritz J. Friedlaender as Dr. Friedlaender would be out of the country for most of the year; the fiscal year was changed from an academic to an annual year and a new method of accepting reservations ~ utilized, to improve communications/with the office of the Electric League doing the coordinating work. Other changes involved training and educational courses. In January IEEE had taken a bold step ahead of others and presented a short course on "Project Management" with Merrell Buckley. WFYI (Channel 20) had cooperated in providing the downlink with the satellite and feed to IHETS. In attendance at various sites around Indiana were over 180 students and engineers; of these 52 were from Naval Avionics and 54 from the Crane Naval Weapons Center. Nationwide there were 650 to 700 that learned by satellite during this presentation. Our section presentation of technical courses were fewer with a resulting decrease in revenue. This had been a year of change but interest remained strong and attendance at functions had been good.
During the spring and summer of 1982 the Executive committee of the section had been very busy. In Maya formal invitation had invited those concerned to attend a reception and informal discussion in the Mayor's Conference Room of the City-County Building, Indianapolis. The outlined purpose was to obtain members' concerns with respect to the present status and direction of the engineering profession and the institute. Present from headquarters of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers were Eric Herz, General Manager and Executive Director and James Owen, President Elect. This meeting provided interesting discussions and provided valuable information to our national leaders about our city, area and the activity in our profession. In July the Executive Committee met at the China Royal for the first of two important meetings for the summer organization and planning sessions. The second meeting of the summer was held at the Convention Center following the first day of the Microprocessor Show being held there.
In August in an announcement from the Governor's office, our Past Chairman, Gerald Waltz, was appointed to the State Board of Registration for Engineers and Land Sureyors. On that Board he joined another long-time member, Herman A. Moench.
Officers for the year were Chairman, Ken Barr; Vice-Chairman, Dr. Marvin A. Needler; Secretary, Melvin T. Forthafer and Treasurer, Ova 'Glen' Amburgey. Directors were Phillips Ballantyne and Dr. Fritz J. Friedlaender. Editor of THE REPORTER was Harry D. Bostic with Ronald L. Wolff as Business Manager.
With another fine set of officers the section was off to a good start for the year 1982-1983. The September issue of THE REPORTER always sets the tone for the year and starts the year's activity with numerous announcements. This issue lists the meeting da~ for the year and the major activities for the fall. Dr. Charles S. Elliott in his Continuing Engineering Education comments on 'Personal Renewal' and states, "It's never too late to catch up or continue in keeping up to date in your field." A very true statement and we are indeed fortunate to have good activity with good coordinators in this area. Dr. Elliott then announced four new programs, one revised program and three previous successes for the IHETS network plus some on-campus conferences. Power Engineering announced an October course in "Engineering Economics" and also their programs for the year.
On December 7, 1982 the first national presentation of a televised training course was presented. This course was on 'Robotics' and following some early coordination problems the course was presented to an estimated 2,500 attendees nationwide, of these 250 were from Indiana.
Programs for the year 1982-1983 were of the usual high caliber. The program with the greatest number of attendees remained the annual meeting at the track, even though we were not permitted that year to drive personal cars on the track. The total attendance for that meeting was, 122. However, if we were only to count members attending the best attended meeting would be the June meeting with Don Baker, Senior Experimental Engineer of Detroit Diesel Allison talking on "Micro Computing". A tour of Wavetek proved interesting to 58 members and guests. Other programs were on computers, static awareness, the video disc, fiber optics and one on "From Garage to Corporation" again proof that new ideas and hard work can still result in success in America and in our own area. Unfortunately, one joint meeting with the Bloomington Sub-Section was cancelled but later rescheduled with success by the sub-section.
In THE REPORTER Chairman Ken Barr honored our members of 'Fellow Grade' by listing the 18 members that were currently in that category. He also used the listing to remind all members that to become a 'Fellow' one must first be a Senior Member.
In another issue of THE REPORTER Ova (Glen) Amburgey, while writing in 'from the Treasurer' concludes with, "Dealing with the 27 members of the Executive Committee for the last six months has taught me one other thing: not one of them have the time to spend on this committee. However, they are here. So the next time someone asks you to help out or run for office, what's going to be your excuse?"
It has been another good year.
Our officers for the year 1983-84 were Chairman, Dr. Marvin A. Needler; Vice-Chairman, Dr. David A. Landgrebe; Secretary, Ova "Glen" Amburgey and Treasurer, Charles Mason. Directors for the year were Robert D. Adams and Phillips Ballantyne. Harry D. Bostic was Editor of THE REPORTER with Ronald L. Wolff as Business Manager.
The year started as usual in September but with a more than busy September schedule for many of our members as the Joint Power Generation Conference was held in Indianapolis at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Approximately 1,000 attendees participated in 55 technical sessions and three tours.
The September meeting was a joint meeting of the section with the Power Engineering Society and was a tour of the Indianapolis Air Traffic Control Center. This ever popular tour drew 43 to see the wonders of computers, scopes and communications required to make flying safer.
September announcements included tentative schedules for the year's programs, Dr. Elliott for Continuing Engineering Education announcing five courses for the IHETS network and the Power Engineering Society announcing their fall course on "Distribution Fault Current Protection." The IHETS is now showing courses in 25 industries and at six campus sites. There are over 400 videotape courses available in 18 disciplines from 24 AMCEE member universities.
The Power Engineering Society had been nominated with eight others for the outstanding chapter award of their society. Unfortunately, though they were close they were not the winner. All the work was not for naught though as many had worked long and hard to make the chapter a better chap~r, involved in more activities. The working together will long remain with them in making a good chapter an even better chapter. Each member deserves the congratulations of our section for the near perfect effort.
Indycon '83 had earned for our section $2,207.77 and in October was already preparing for Indycon '84. Income for the event had been $75,697 and Expenses $62,450. Half of the balance is reserved as an operation fund for the next year and the remaining half is divided between the three sponsors IEEE, NEDA and ERA.
In October the Treasurer's report to the section indicated a net balance of $19,644.28.
The October meeting of the section was held at the Ramsburg Corp. and following dinner a tour was enjoyed by the 62 present. The feature of the tour was the use of advanced technology in industrial robots.
The last of the fall meetings was held at MacPherson's with member Dr. Leslie A. Geddes making a presentation on "Exercise- Responsive Pacemaking." Many from local hospitals were present.
In December Secretary Glen Amburgey resigned to accept employment in Ohio. He was succeeded by Chris Jamison.
January 1984 marked the start of the "IEEE Centennial Year" resulting in some special events for our section. The first meeting of the year was held at the Naval Avionics Center. Several past chairmen and members have been employed at NAC and if no one else showed up for a meeting this group alone could make a good section meeting. The NAC cafeteria prepared the dinner at a minimum cost. Capt. W. R. Abel, Commanding Officer, was present and welcomed us to the facility and as a centennial event he briefly reviewed the history of NAC for us. The following tour of the Digital Avionics Systems Laboratory was most interesting and educational for over 110 ladies and gentlemen present for the tour.
In February for our Honors and Awards evening, celebrated with the ladies, we were fortunate to have Dr. Leslie A. Geddes as our speaker talking on "Electricity in Medicine 1745-1983.~ Our Chairman Dr. Marvin Needler reported the evening exceptionally well in his "From the Chairman" comments in the April issue of THE REPORTER.
"Our February 16 meeting was a special occasion not only because it was our Annual Awards program but also because it was the Centennial Awards program. In celebration of the IEEE Centennial Year in 1984, there are 1984 Centennial Medals awarded to individuals for service to the Institute. Our section was granted eight of these awards. Based on the nomination from section members. our Awards Committee elected the following: Robert Adams. Roy Kenneth Barr, Harry D. Bostic, Robert K. Brown, George R. Fraser, John E. Harder, Clare D. McGillem and Marvin A. Needler. These awards were presented at the February meeting.
The J. Fred Peoples award was presented to Robert Adams for his work in virtually all the offices of the section and for his leadership in Indycon. the full spectrum electronic exhibition and conference which developed from the IEEE/Indy Microcomputer Show."
A special misfortune occurs to those that lead the Awards Committee, namely, no matter how deserving they may be they are not recognized for their service. Indeed deserving was the case this year. For this reason. Mr. Gerald Waltz and Mr. Fritz Friedlaender, the Awards Committee Co-Chairmen, were presented with certificates for service to the section, as previous chairmen of the section, for other extensive services. and for the awards committee responsibility. Thanks for a job well done, Jerry and Fritz.
The balance of the section meeting included a brief centennial history composed by George Fraser and the main presentation by Leslie Geddes on electricity and medicine. All this along with a very nice meal and an enjoyable evening and a successful meeting.
The March meeting was a joint meeting with the Bloomington subsection and the April meeting was with the IUPUI Student Chapter and both meetings were on computers .
In May we were back at 'The Track' with a very interesting program on "Miles and Milliseconds, Timing and Scoring" with Joe A. Clouter from the Speedway staff and Art Graham of USAC.
The June meeting was very well attended for an out of Indianapolis meeting. It was a tour at the Delco Electronics Plant of Kokomo.
All in all it had been a good year.
A July 10, 1984 meeting at the China Royal Restaurant had assisted in the yearly changeover. Our Chairman had been reelected and most committees were organized and ready to work. The treasurer's report indicated the net amount available to the section as $17,963.40.
Officers for the year were Chairman, Dr. Marvin Needler; Vice Chairman, Chris Jamison; Secretary, Charles Mason and Treasurer, Max Willis. Directors were Robert D. Adams and Ken Barr. The staff of THE REPORTER was Nancy W. Molzan, Editor and Ronald L. Wolff as Business Manager.
The September 1984 issue of THE REPORTER was the first of a new and different publication. Costs and lead time have always been problems with our section publication. The purpose of the new REPORTER is reduce cost and make each issue more timely. A new Editor also reported ~ duty to succeed long time Editor Harry Bostic. She is Nancy Molzan, a former teacher but now & recent EE and member of I.E.E.E. In this issue the P.E.S. announced their fall course as one on "Transformer Design and Application" with five sessions of two hours each. Dr. Elliott for Continuing Engineering Education reviewed the offerings available on the IHETS network. IEEE announced an offering of a course on the "INTEL Sixteen-Bit Microprocessor Chips - Architecture and Applicaton" to be taught by Mr. Rick Schue. The section meeting for the month will be a tour, jointly sponsored by the Power Engineering Society and the section)of Plant 20, Delco Remy Division of General Motors at Anderson.
October marks the culmination of the centennial year celebration with the finish of the first and start of the second century of the electrical engineering profession. The event to mark this change goes back to where it all started -- the Franklin Institute -- with a satellite program "The Second Century Begins." The Central Indiana Section participated in this celebration with a dinner at Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, Student Union.
It was an early Thanksgiving menu that made for a good dinner for those attending. Early attendees had been able to see the slide presentation of the "History of Electrical Engineering."
After dinner all adjourned to the IU School of Nursing Teleconference room to view via satellite the program from Philadelphia. It was a dramatic evening.
The calendar year and the centennial year for our section closed with a meeting jointly sponsored by the Electric League of Indiana, the Illuminating Engineering Society and the Central Indiana Section of the I.E.E.E. The meeting was a presentation and tour. The meeting was on the 'Technology of Lasers' and was held at the Airport Holiday Inn followed by the tour of the laser facility.
As Electrical Engineers we have had a great heritage but I couldn't help thinking and feeling that the centennial year had been interesting but the most important event had been the celebration of 'The Second Century Begins'.
IEEE, 1984 - 1986
The early part of the year 1984-85 has previously been published in THE REPORTER.
The Centennial year is over and our section has participated, via satellite, in the presentation of "The Second Century Begins" from the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. Over the past ten months we have been reminded of our heritage in several different ways, plant histories, brief talks, slide presentation, an interesting program by one of our Fellows, Dr. Leslie A. Geddes on the History of Electricity in Medicine 1745-1983 and the publication of the History of the Central Indiana Section in THE REPORTER.
The Second Century has indeed begun as we look back on the past with pride and accomplishment but if we are to continue to grow as an individual and section we must look to the future and prepare for the future. A review of the programs of the section and of the courses being offered by our various educational activities can result in only one conclusion and that conclusion must be that the opportunity is available but it is up to you, the individual member, to accept and participate in these opportunities if you are to be a part of the challenge of the future.
Programs as scheduled in THE REPORTER went along pretty much according to schedule. The annual trip to the track was again one of the major meetings of the year with Tom Binford, Chief Steward of the Indianapolis 500, our speaker. Mr. Thomas W. Binford, as one of the most prominent men in Indianapolis, talked about racing as he knew it and his particular philosophy that had helped him in making some difficult decisions that involved racing over the years. This program was again jointly sponsored with the Electric League of Indiana. The tour of the garage area was interesting, as usual, and the presentation by Mr. Binford was outstanding.
For those that attended regularly it was obvious that an honest attempt was made during the year to have something for every member. Meal costs and social hours were varied, beer was brought in and made available at cost for a few of the meetings in an effort to reduce costs.
During the Centennial year membership in the IEEE had passed the quarter million mark. Our Central Indiana Section membership had also grown from a reported 1,541 members in March of 1985. Much of the increase was due to increased student involvement. This is good as they are the members of the future. Chairman Marvin Needler reported that the student section of IUPUI has become a very active student section.
The funding of the section and particularly the funding of THE REPORTER are usual problems but with an all around conservation effort and the changes in the publication of the section publication this was not a problem of the year 1984-85. The year had started with $17,963.40 available in the treasury and ended with $18,865.95 available to start 1985-86. IndyCon 184 held October 8 & 9, 1984 had again been successful and resulted in income to IEEE of $1,816.47, Region 4 of IEEE $90.82 and to the section $1,725.65.
Several video conferences were held during the year with the section taking an integral part in each.
The section officially dropped the following subsections from the activities of the section; Circuits and Systems, Information Theory, Engineering Management and Engineering in Medicine and Biology. All were inactive and had failed to elect new officers.
An event of the past several months that has caused concern not only to our community but also to our section has been the phasing out and closing of the Western Electric Plant on Shade1and. The community has lost an asset, the employment of many people and our section has lost some fine engineers as a result.
The year 1984-85 was a year of many changes but a good year and a solid base has been established for the coming year.
Chris Jamison became our chairman in September 1985. Chris had been an active member since commencing his work career at the Naval Avionics Center. For many of our members their first acquaintance with Chris was at the door of a IEEE meeting while Chris was serving on or Chairman of the Hospitality Committee. Chris was ably assisted during the year by Max Willis from Public Ser9tce Indiana as Vice-Chairman, Ed Byrun from R.C.A. as Secretary, and Larry Ogborn of Purdue University as Treasurer. Directors were Dr. Marvin A. Needler of IUPUI and Ken Barr of R.C.A. Editor of THE REPORTER was Nancy Molzan from the Naval Avionics Center. All of our officers were registered Professional Engineers. It is believed this was the first time that all officers of the section were PEs.
Programs for the year were aimed at membership participation and the number and type of tours were increased as this usually brings out more members for a meeting. Six of the nine meetings had a tour as part of the meeting. For those whose feet and energy didn't wear out the first meeting of the year, a tour of the Indiana Bell facility in downtown Indianapolis, proved to be most complete and interesting. Tours of TV station WXIN and Indy Cablevision were interesting and educational. It is good to see that the section continues to work closely with our student sections.
For many years the section has alternated between Rose Hulman in Terre Haute and Purdue University in West Lafayette on a joint section and student section meeting. This year this meeting was held at Rose Hulman with a tour of the CBS/Sony Digital Audio Plant as a highlight of the meeting. The annual May meeting at the Indianapolis Speedway almost did not have a tour due to the construction of new garages but almost at the last minute, construction progress did permit a garage tour. The new garages are certainly an improvement and are better equipped to assist in the quest for speed and safety. The last tour and meeting of the year was a tour of the Cumins Engine Plant in Columbus, Indiana. This tour proved very popular and once again proved that with a good program, members are willing to travel. Approximately 50 members attended this meeting. Other meetings of the year were on manufacturing automation, Star Wars and for our annual honors and awards night, a very excellent meeting on medicine by Dr. James E. Lingeman of the Indiana University School of Medicine and Methodist Hospital.
The Power Engineering Society was very active, as usual, with regular meetings and the presentation of both a fall and spring training program. In January, Marlin Ford became Chairman of the PES group replacing Mike Martin who had been Chairman during 1985. This chapter is one of the top chapters in the United States finishing in the top five of all United States chapters almost yearly.
During the 1985-86 your Historian knows of the following that are representing the Central Indiana Section at he national and international level: Gene Nix of the Power Engineering Society and from the Electrical Engineering Technology Department of Purdue University was appointed Chairman of the internationally active PES Student Affairs Committee; Fritz Friedlander, Electrical Engineering Department, Purdue University is with the Magnetics Society and Dr. Leslie A. Geddes of the Biomedical Engineering Center, Purdue University was appointed as a member of the IEEE History Committee.
Membership in the IEEE and the Central Indiana Section continue to show a good growth pattern. During 1985 internationally IEEE grew at the rate of 4.2% finishing the year with 273,000 members world wide. Our Central Indiana Section finished the year with over 1,723 members.
Costs of operating the section continues to increase but the section operates very close to its self established operating budget. At the end of August 1985, cash available and invested was reported as $17,963.40. On September 1, 1986, the reported cash available and invested was $17,116.87. INDYCON that atone time was conducted entirely by our section has grown to such an extent we now have partners in sponsoring the show and the show is managed by a professional management corporation. For 1985, the section received $580.60 as its share of the profits of which 5% is obligated to Region IV of IEEE.
Educational activities during the year were numerous and covered many areas. Chuck Elliott of Purdue University has been a regular contributor to THE REPORTER and has worked long and hard to assist furthering engineering education. This year he was promoted from his position as Head of Continuing Engineering Education at Purdue University but he continued writing for THE REPORTER until his successor was appointed. A portion of one of these reports deserves repeating; lilt's never too late to learn more. Good advice for all and the opportunity is available through our section. Dr. Phillip H. Swain was named to succeed Chuck as Director for Continuing Engineering Education. Phil is well known to many members of the section as he has not only been an active member but he organized and for several years was Chairman of the Central Indiana Chapter of the IEEE Computer Society.
All officers are to be congratulated for another good year.
AIEE Central Indiana Section Officers
Year | Chair | Secretary |
1908 | E.A. Wagner | M.J. Kehoe |
1909-1911 | E.A. Wagner | J.V. Hunter |
1911-1912 | A.B. Morrison | P.H. Haselton |
1913 | T.W. Behan | P.H. Haselton |
1914 | L.D. Nordstrum | J.J.A. Snook |
1915 | J.J. Kline | J.J.A. Snook |
1916 | J.J. Kline | |
1917 | J.J. Kline | R.B. Roberts |
1918 | P.C. Morganthaler | O.B. Rinehart |
1919 | C.I. Hall | O.B. Rinehart |
1920 | E.L. Simpson | A.B. Campbell |
1921 | R.H. Chadwick | A.B. Campbell |
1922 | S.W. Greenland | A.B. Campbell |
1923 | C.C. Grandy | L.C. Yapp |
1924 | A.B. Campbell | J.L. Moon |
1925 | E.L. Gaines | D.W. Merchant |
1926 | D.W. Merchant | C.F. Beyer |
1927 | P.O. Noble | F.W. Merrill |
1928 | C.F. Beyer | J.F. Eitman |
1929 | F.W. Merrill | E.J. Schaefer |
1930 | W.J. Morrill | C.M. Summers |
1931 | E.J. Schaefer | C.M. Summers |
1932 | B.A. Case | C.M. Summers |
1933 | C.M. Summers | O. Kiltie |
1934 | O. Kiltie | D.H. Hanson |
1935 | H.M. Witherow | D.H. Hanson |
1936 | D.H. Hanson | C.S. Allen |
1937 | C.S. Allen | N.L. Winter |
1938 | N.L. Winter | C.R. Atkinson |
1939 | F.H. Fleischer | C.R. Atkinson |
1940 | Wayne Kehoe | G.C. Harvey |
1941 | G.C. Harvey | R.W. Clark |
1942 | S.D. Summers | W.W. Brooks |
1943 | C.W. Kronmiller | E.G. Downie |
1944 | W.W. Brooks | S.A. Zimmerman |
1945 | E.G. Downey | L.L. Ray |
1946 | S.W. Winje | E.A. Linke |
1947 | M.L. Schmidt | C.J. Herman |
1948 | C.J. Herman | R.E. Trovinger |
1949 | J.F. Eitman | J.H. Capps |
1950 | R.E. Trovinger | M.A. Baker |
1951 | R.D. Jones | M.L. Miller |
1952 | M.A. Baker | R.K. Drake |
1953 | M.L. Miller | D.F. Wartzok |
1954 | R.K. Drake | C.W. Brown |
1955 | D.F. Wartzok | Andrew Schevtchuk |
1956 | J.H. Capps | B.C. Biega |
1957 | Charles R. Johnson | D.B. Searls |
1958 | B.C. Biega | |
1959 | M.J. Carroccio | J. Anderson, Jr. |
1960-1961 | J.A. Anderson, Jr. | L.F. Berning |
1962 | L.F. Berning | V.J. Warnock |
IEEE Central Indiana Section Officers
Year | Chair | Vice chair | Secretary | Treasurer |
---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | David Redding | Norbert Viranyi | Alan Stillerman | Stephen Clouse |
2001 | David Redding | Norbert Viranyi | Alan Stillerman | Stephen Clouse |
2002 | Norbert Viranyi | Alan Stillerman | T Lin | |
2003 | Alan Stillerman | Ross Barton | Thomas Bishop | T Lin |
2004 | Alan Stillerman | Jose Ramos | Thomas Bishop | T Lin |
2005 | Jose Ramos | John Kassebaum | Thomas Bishop | T Lin |
2006 | John Kassebaum / William Kassebaum | William Kassebaum | Thomas Bishop | James Brown |
2007 | William Kassebaum | Thomas Bishop | Karl Huehne | James Brown |
2008 | William Kassebaum | Steve Shen | Karl Huehne | Carlotta Berry |
2009 | Steve Shen | Phillip Walter | Karl Huehne | Carlotta Berry |
2010 | David Peter / Phillip Walter | Yuetong Lin | Karl Huehne | David Koehler |
2011 | Phillip Walter | Yuetong Lin | Karl Huehne | David Koehler |
2012 | David Koehler | Yuetong Lin | Stavan Dholakia | Herschel Workman |
2013 | David Koehler | Stavan Dholakia | John Alt | |
2014 | David Koehler | Stavan Dholakia | Jaeyong Park | John Alt |
2015 | Phillip Walter | John Alt | Umama Maisha Tasnia | Isabel Lujan / John Kassebau |
2016 | Robert Evanich | Umama Maisha Tasnia | Niusha Rostamkolai | John Kassebaum |
2017 | Robert Evanich | Michael Hayashi | Niusha Rostamkolai | John Kassebaum |
2018 | Robert Evanich | Michael Hayashi | Niusha Rostamkolai | John Kassebaum |
2019 | Michael Hayashi | Benjamin Mcpheron | Michael Anderson | Terry Frierson |
2020 | Robert Evanich | Benjamin Mcpheron | Michael Anderson | Terry Frierson |
2021 | Robert Evanich | Benjamin Mcpheron | Terry Frierson |
Archival documents
- Section petition documents
- Central Indiana Section Original Bylaws, January 10th, 1964 (pdf)
- Central Indiana Section Revised Bylaws, June 5th, 1975 (pdf)
- IEEE Geographic Unit Organizing Document - Central Indiana