The Bridge - Issue 2, 2020 - 19

History Spotlight

Marty Cooper is widely considered
the father of the cellular phone.

Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple and pioneer of the personal computer revolution, with a student at the University of California, Berkeley,
during a special ceremony for his elevation to HKN Eminent Member.

HKN Eminent Members
Steve E. Watkins

The IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu (HKN) honor
society "promotes excellence in the
profession and in education through
an emphasis on scholarship, character,
and attitude." This objective and these
ideals have always guided the election of
members as students and as professionals
and have given direction to its activities.
Early on, the organization understood
the value of honoring those whose
career accomplishments merited higher
recognition. HKN sought to promote
professional excellence with specific
awards and a higher membership category.
The Eminent Member category is for
professionals who are among the most
influential within electrical engineering
and related fields. Only 143 individuals
have been so recognized.

Henry Samueli (pictured with 2019
IEEE-HKN President Karen Panetta)
is the Chairman of leading computer
chip maker Broadcom Inc.

Vladimir K. Zworykin was one of HKN's first Eminent Members.

The membership process was developed and
three members were elevated in 1950. Those
elected were Vannevar Bush, computer pioneer and
educator; Royal W. Sorensen, power educator and
inventor; and Vladimir K. Zworykin, television pioneer
and inventor. In 2004, Profiles in Engineering
Leadership: Eta Kappa Nu's First Century Eminent
Members was published by the IEEE History Center
and the Eta Kappa Nu Association. This centennial
book gives brief biographies of over 100 Eminent
Members and is available at the Engineering and
Technology History Wiki search for Profiles of
Engineering Leadership.

Vint Cerf (pictured with
IEEE-HKN Director Nancy Ostin)
is recognized as one of "the fathers
of the Internet."

The Eminent Member category was added in the
HKN constitution of 1941, and election required the
approval of the governing board. (This category replaced
a less rigorous designation of honorary member.) The
constitution defined the category as such:
"Eminent Membership may be offered only to
those individuals who by their technical attainments
and contributions to society have shown themselves
to be outstanding leaders in the field of electrical
engineering and great benefactors of their fellow men."

Profiles in Engineering
Leadership: Eta Kappa
Nu's First Century Eminent
Members was produced
for the 100th anniversary
of HKN in 2004.

Hermann W. Dommel pioneered
the foundation for EMTP software,
which has become an indispensable
tool in the power industry.

The Eminent Member
recognition is maintained
in the IEEE-HKN governing
documents. The category is
defined with "... Eminent
Member is reserved for those
individuals who, by their
technical attainments and
contributions to society, have
shown themselves to be
outstanding leaders in an IEEEdesignated field of interest, and
great benefactors to society."

Only the Board of Governors,
with a supermajority vote, may
elevate someone to this member category. Only
living individuals may be elevated. An additional 10
individuals have been designated Honorary Eminent
Members since they were not considered during
their lifetimes. The February 2020 issue of THE
BRIDGE reported on the ceremonies elevating the
latest Eminent Members: Henry Samueli, G. David
Forney Jr., and Robert Metcalfe.
The tagline for IEEE is "Advancing Technology
for Humanity." The list of IEEE-HKN Eminent
Members remembers the individuals behind our
modern technologies and reflects the impact of our
profession on society. The current list of Eminent
Members is available on the HKN website.

Leonard Kleinrock, developer of the ARPANET, the precursor to
the Internet, became an Eminent Member in 2011.

THE BRIDGE

HKN.ORG

https://www.ethw.org/Main_Page https://www.ethw.org/Main_Page https://hkn.ieee.org/get-involved/awards/eminent-member-recognition/ https://hkn.ieee.org/ https://hkn.ieee.org/

The Bridge - Issue 2, 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Bridge - Issue 2, 2020