History among the Engineers

The IEEE´s Center for the History of Electrical Engineering is the latest manifestation of a sensitivity about and interest in history that the electrical engineers have shown for much of the last century. Particularly since the late 1940´s, the IEEE´s predecessors, the Institute of Radio Engineers and the American Institute of Electrical Engineers, have recognized a professional responsibility toward their heritage. Finding the best means for carrying out this responsibility has been a long process, however, culminating in the establishment of the Center in 1980. Since the Center´s establishment owed much to a genuine concern about the preservation of the documentary record of electrical engineering´s achievements, the identification and preservation of significant archival collections has been a major priority from the beginning. This effort has been joined by a similar concern for the artifacts of the electrical engineering heritage. The Center´s programs have also included a variety of publications, exhibits, and other efforts to heighten awareness of the history of electrical engineering, and particularly of the profession itself, among members of the IEEE, the scholarly and technical communities, and the general public.