Electrical Engineering Hall of Fame: Michael I. Pupin

In 1924, the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) selected Michael I. Pupin as the seventh recipient of its Medal of Honor. He was cited for his "fundamental contributions in the field of electrical tuning and the rectification of alternating currents used for signaling purposes". An influential electrical engineering educator and inventor, he had served as the president of the IRE in 1917 and had received the Edison Medal from the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) in 1920. He also received the Pulitzer Prize in 1924 for his autobiography entitled From Immigrant to Inventor and served as president of the AIEE in 1925. His pioneering work on the so-called loading coil used in telephony brought him considerable fame and financial rewards. He was a mentor of such well-known pioneers in radioelectronics as Alfred N. Goldsmith and Edwin H. Armstrong.