The IEEE Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Society stands as the world's largest organization dedicated to the development and distribution of information, tools, and techniques for reducing electromagnetic interference. Members benefit from professional development opportunities, conferences, publications, webinars, demonstrations, experiments, and social networking events.
The EMC Society originated in the mid-1950s when electrical engineers specializing in Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) began discussing a more formal organization for their technical activities.
Early Beginnings and Formation
In early 1956, a group of RFI engineers in the Los Angeles area founded an informal organization of interference experts. A steering committee was formed to develop the aims and intentions of the group. The steering committee consisted of Prentice Tinney (North American Aviation), Joe Tobin (AiResearch), A.T. Parker (Stoddart Aircraft Radio), Charles W. Ketteman, Jr. (California Electronic Services Company), and Fred Nichols (Sprague). They became known as the Radio Interference Technical Committee and operated for almost two years as that Committee until they joined the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) as the Professional Group on RFI.
At the same time that the Los Angeles group was getting organized, a separate group of engineers from the New York City area were also organizing an East Coast Group. At the third Armour Conference in Chicago in February of 1957, an announcement was made of an organizational meeting to be held in New York City in April of 1957. At this meeting, the decision was made to petition the Institute of Radio Engineers for formation of a Professional Group on RFI.
This petition was circulated around the USA and a total of 326 individuals signed the petition, which was formally submitted to the IRE on 3 July 1957. On October 10, 1957; the IRE approved the formal petition and the new Professional Group on Radio Frequency Interference (PGRFI) was officially born.
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At the 25th anniversary of the founding of the IRE Professional Group on RFI, forty of the original 326 signers were still active members of the organization. James McNaul on left with founders (from L.
Evolution and Key Milestones
The first meeting of the Administrative Committee of the Professional Group on Radio Frequency Interference (PGRFI) was held November 20, 1957 at the Berkeley-Carteret Hotel in Asbury Park, New Jersey. Harold Schwenk was elected as the first Chairman, Leonard Milton as the first Vice-Chairman, Albert R. Kall as the first Secretary, and Lieutenant James P. McNaul as the first Treasurer. The first official term of office ran from July 1, 1958 to June 30, 1959. The second chairman was Lieutenant James P. McNaul, and the third was Ralph Showers.
In 1963, the IEEE was formed from the combination of the IRE and the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE.) The IRE Professional Group on RFI became the IEEE Professional Group on RFI. Then, in 1978, the PGRFI became the Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Society of the IEEE (its current name). In 1972, the offices of Chairman and Vice-Chairman were renamed President and Vice-President in a title change that has remained constant ever since.
The traditional two-year term of the President of the Society was formalized in 1997 with a motion at the Board level.
Past Chairmen and Presidents
Here's a list of past chairmen and presidents of the society:
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| Years | Chairman/President |
|---|---|
| 1957-1959 | Harold R. |
| 1959-1960 | James P. |
| 1960-1961 | Ralph M. |
| 1961-1962 | Harold E. |
| 1963-1964 | Donald R.J. |
| 1964-1965 | Z.V. |
| 1965-1967 | A. H. |
| 1968 | Richard B. |
| 1969 | Fred J. |
| 1970-1971 | H.M. |
| 1972 | John J. |
| 1973 | Joseph F. |
| 1974-1975 | William E. |
| 1976-1977 | James C. |
| 1978-1979 | Jackie R. |
| 1980-1981 | Donald N. |
| 1982-1983 | William G. |
| 1984-1985 | Eugene D. |
| 1986-1987 | B. |
| 1988-1989 | Donald E. |
| 1990-1991 | Edwin L. |
| 1998-1999 | Daniel D. |
| 2002-2003 | Todd R. |
| 2010-2011 | Francesca R. |
Some officers have served in their positions for a long time. For example, L.W. (Leonard) Thomas, Sr. served as Secretary from 1966-1982 (17 years) and Warren Kesselman has been Treasurer from 1972-1983 and again from 1998-2008 (for a total of 23 years). And, Janet O’Neil has been Secretary from April of 1988 and was still serving in that position in 2008.
Conferences and Symposiums
Conferences and Symposiums have been an important part of the EMC Society from its beginnings. The first Conference on Radio Interference Reduction was held in December of 1954 at the Armour Research Foundation of the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, Illinois. It was followed by the Second Conference at the Sheraton Hotel in Chicago on March 6 and 7 in 1956. The Third Armour Conference was held in February of 1957 and was instrumental as the meeting place for the organizers of the EMC Society. A total of 10 Armour Conferences were held.
The first PGRFI symposium was held in New York City on June 15 and 16, 1959 with 250 people attending. The second one was held in 1960 in Washington, DC and was attended by over 400 people. Due to that success, the third Symposium was held in “DC” again.
During the years of the first EMC symposiums, the proceedings were termed digests and contained abstracts and summaries of the papers presented. In 1965, with the dissolution of the Armour conferences, the EMC Symposia records began to include some full papers and within two years (by 1967) all the symposia records included full papers.
The symposium was first called a National Symposium until about 1970, when the IEEE became interested in assuring all countries in the world were represented by its membership, and renamed it the International Symposium. The first IEEE International EMC Symposium held outside the United States was in 1984 in Tokyo, Japan. That year a separate EMC symposium was held in San Antonio, Texas for USA activities. Since then, an International Symposium for the IEEE was held in Montreal (Canada) in 2001 and in Türkiye (sponsored by the Israel chapter) in 2003.
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The EMC Society has cooperated with other EMC symposiums around the world. These include the Zurich Symposiums (held in odd-numbered years) and the Wroclaw Symposiums (usually held in even-numbered years).
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Technical Publications: The Transactions
An important element of the EMC Society has always been its technical publications, especially the Transactions. The Transactions were initiated in 1959 and were first called the IRE Transactions on Radio Frequency Interference. The IEEE Transactions on EMC publishes high-quality scientific peer-reviewed papers. The papers have contributed significantly to the advance of EMC technology over the past 50 years.
Early editions were published under the guidance of a Publications Committee and a Technical Papers Committee. In 1964, an official editor was selected for the first time and, as the publication grew, associate editors were added. The first formal editor was A. H. Sullivan, Jr. (1964-1968) and the second was R.B. “Dick” Schulz (1969-1987). This excellent beginning was followed by the appointment of Moto Kanda (1988-2000) and Marcello D’Amore (2000-2003). The current Transactions Editor-in-Chief is Flavio G. Canavero.
Normally, the EMC Transactions are published four times a year but, sometimes special issues are produced which results in a fifth publication in a given year.
The Newsletter
Before the Professional Group on RFI had a newsletter, there was an informal newsletter “Quasis and Peaks” which was originated by Rexford Daniels in 1954 in order to coordinate happenings in the technical area of Interference. It should be noted, however, that the first newsletter published directly by the PGRFI was actually written and edited by Milton Kant, one of the founders of the EMC Society. It was published January 2, 1958. But, the second and subsequent Newsletters of the Professional Group on RFI was edited by Rex Daniels and he continued as the editor until 1968 (Issues #2 -#53.) In 1968, Robert Goldblum became the editor and remained in that position until 1997 (Issues #54 - #173.) Since then, Janet O’Neil has edited the Newsletter.
The newsletter’s name has changed a number of times. It was originally called “The Professional Group on Radio Frequency Interference Newsletter” (Issues #1 and #2.) Then, it became the “IRE Professional group on Radio Frequency Interference Newsletter” (Issues #3 - #24 - August 1958 - December 1962.)
The title then remained constant until Issue #98, in the summer of 1978, when it changed to “IEEE Electromagnetic Compatibility Society Newsletter.” The final change, to its present title of “IEEE EMC Society Newsletter,” occurred at Issue # 146.
The Newsletter has changed in content and length over the years. It started in the early years with four pages. It grew to an average size of 24 pages under Bob Goldblum and more recently has grown again, under Janet O’Neil, to more than 50 pages.
One of the areas of the EMC Society Newsletter that has been popular over the years has been the EMC Abstracts. These are short summaries of magazine articles and other pertinent articles on EMC that have been reviewed by EMC technical experts.
Additional Resources and Activities
The EMC Society provides funds for co-sponsorship of EMC-related events. IEEE partners with John Wiley & Sons to publish technical books in all fields served by IEEE. Presentations from Standards Week are available for download.
Learn more and sign up today to join the IEEE EMC Society and access the world of technology!
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