L. F. Hickernell

L. F. Hickernell, AIEE President, 1958 - 1959, became vice president of engineering for the Anaconda Wire & Cable Company in 1957.

Biography

L. F. Hickernell (AM '25, F '34), vice-president, engineering, Anaconda Wire & Cable Company, Hastings on Hudson, N. Y., was AIEE president from 1958 to 1959. Mr. Hickernell was born in Middletown, Pa., March 22, 1899. He received the B.A. degree from Grinnell College in 1920, and the B.S. degree in E.E. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1922. Upon graduation, he joined the General Electric Company in Lynn, Mass., as a graduate student engineer. In 1923, he entered the engineering department of Consumers Power Co., Jackson, Mich., and continued to work for this firm's successors, Commonwealth Power Corp., Stevens & Wood, Inc., and Allied Engineers. Inc., until 1931. During this period, he held the positions of assistant investigations engineer and general engineer. He joined Anaconda Wire & Cable Company in 1931 as electrical engineer. He was named chief engineer in 1933 and vice-president, engineering in 1957.

Mr. Hickernell has been active in several organizations including National Electric Light Association, Insulated Power Cable Engineers Association, National Electrical Manufacturers Association, American Society for Testing Materials, American Transit Association, and Conference Internationale Des Grands Reseaux Electriques. He is also a member of the Institution of Electrical Engineers (British), and Engineers' Club of New York City. During his long association with the AIEE, Mr. Hickernell has had a wide range of experience in Institute affairs. He has served as a member and in various officerships in both the Detroit-Ann Arbor, (now Michigan) Section and the New York Section. On the national level, his early technical assignments included chairmanships of several subcommittees of the Electrical Machinery, Protective Devices, and Power Transmission and Distribution Committees. When the technical activities were expanded in 1947, he was appointed chairman of the newly created Insulated Conductors Committee, and initiated the very active subcommittee organization which distinguishes that Committee. Mr. Hickernell's general committee functions have included vice-chairman of the Board of Examiners, chairman of the Power Division, and Technical Operations Committees. His memberships have included the Publication, Standards, Public Relations, and Edison Medal Committees. He served four years as a director. During 1955-58, he has been the Board member appointed each year to serve as chairman of the Planning and Co-ordination Committee. He was, requested to serve this unusually long term in order to handle an important series of surveys and organization studies. He was also the Institute's treasurer, a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors, and represented AIEE on the Board of Directors of Engineers Joint Council.