IEEE History Center

Since its inception, IEEE has had a standing History Committee advising the IEEE Board of Directors on matters of the legacy and heritage of IEEE and its members and their related professions and technologies, and carrying out some activities in those areas.

In 1980, in anticipation of its Centennial celebration in 1984, IEEE established the IEEE History Center to be the staff arm of the History Committee. In 1990, the Center moved to the campus of Rutgers University, which became a cosponsor. Today, IEEE’s central historical activities are carried out largely by the staff of the History Center, under the guidance of the History Committee.

Mission and resources

The mission of the IEEE History Center is to preserve, research and promote the history of information and electrical technologies. The Center maintains many useful resources for the engineer, for the historian of technology, and for anyone interested in the development of electrical and computer engineering and their role in modern society. The History Center building is not a museum, and does not contain artifacts or exhibits, being merely offices and the library. Visiting scholars and researchers are welcome to use our research library and archives, by appointment only. To make an appointment, please contact ieee-history@ieee.org.

Most of the Center's resources are available online at the IEEE Global History Network. The Center’s holdings include the IEEE Archives, which consist of the unpublished records of the IEEE and a collection of historical photographs relating to history of electrical and computer technologies, and a collection of oral history transcripts of pioneering engineers. Within IEEE, the History Center is part of IEEE Corporate Activities, and it is co-sponsored by Rutgers University, where it is affiliated with the History Department of the New Brunswick Campus School of Arts and Sciences.