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The IEEE Board of Directors
recently approved changes to the process for nominating and electing
IEEE members to Fellow Grade. The goal of these changes is to increase
the number of nominations received for members from industry and
to make the process more receptive to nominations received for application
engineers or engineering practitioners who have made contributions
of unusual distinction to the profession. Specifically the changes
established a new nomination category for individual contributions,
“Application Engineer/Practitioner.” This category recognizes
significant contributions in “product development, advancement
in system, application or operation, project management or construction
activity, process development, manufacturing innovation, codes or
standards development, or other application of technology.”
Also, the existing designation, “Engineer/ Scientist”
was changed to, “Research Engineer/scientist.” The other
existing categories, “Educator” and “Technical Leader”
remain the same. So, the IEEE now recognizes contributions in four
distinct categories.
The deadline for receipt of the Fellow Nomination Forms and Reference
letters is the 1st of March this year, which is earlier than in
previous years due to the growing volume of nominations. Nominating
forms, detailed instructions, and frequently asked questions can
be found at the IEEE Fellow Program Web Site at www.ieeee.org/fellows.
This is the second year for the IEEE Electronic Fellow Nomination
Process. Last year, half of the Fellow nominations were submitted
electronically. Most people found the process very easy to use but,
as expected, the process needs to be fine tuned. This year’s
enhancements include the following: operate with Macintosh computers,
automatically forwards a copy of the completed nomination form to
references, and prints the forms in a friendly version. These changes
will no doubt make it even easier for you to complete an electronic
nomination form.
Have you ever wondered how an IEEE member becomes an IEEE Fellow?
The following description of the process can be found on the IEEE
Fellow Program Web Site: “The grade of IEEE Fellow recognizes
unusual distinction in the profession and shall be conferred only
by invitation of the Board of Directors upon a person of outstanding
and extraordinary qualifications and experience in IEEE-designated
fields, and who has made important individual contributions to one
or more of these fields. The year of election to the grade of Fellow
is the year following affirmative action by the Board of Directors
in conferring the grade of Fellow. A brief citation is issued to
new Fellows describing their accomplishments and the total number
selected in any one year does not exceed one-tenth percent of the
total voting Institute membership.” But, at its core, an IEEE
Fellow has been judged to have made extraordinary contributions
in any of the IEEE fields of interest that are of significant value
to the profession and society.
Who is eligible to be nominated? The following requirements are
from the IEEE Fellow Program Web Site: “To be nominated, the
candidate must meet the following three basic qualifications: hold
Senior Member grade at the time the nomination is submitted; be
an ‘active’ member (that is, dues must be current); and
must have completed five years of service in any grade of IEEE membership.
Note: IEEE affiliate membership within an IEEE society does not
apply.”
Almost anyone can serve as a nominator of a candidate for IEEE Fellow
grade; you do not even have to be an IEEE member. But, for perhaps
obvious reasons, the following cannot be nominators: members of
the IEEE Board of Directors, members of the IEEE Fellow Committee,
chairs and members of IEEE Technical Society/Council Fellow Evaluating
Committees, or IEEE Staff.
A nomination must be supported by at least five, but no more than
eight references from active IEEE Fellows. A list of IEEE Fellows
can be found at the IEEE Fellow Program Web Site or in the current
IEEE Membership Directory. In addition, a Fellow Nomination Resource
Center (FNRC) was established. The purpose of the Center is to assist
nominators in locating the required number of references to support
a nomination to IEEE Fellow Grade. The Center will operate on an
experimental basis for a 3-year period. It is a volunteer support
group comprised of a Chair and Case Managers, all of whom must be
IEEE Fellow grade members. Nominators wishing assistance from the
FNRC must initiate a request by sending an e-mail to FNRC@ieee.org.
For 2005, the following NPSS members were first evaluated by the
NPSS Fellow Committee and elected IEEE Fellows: Shu T. Lai, Irvin
R. Lindemuth, Yitzhak Maron, Lloyd W. Massengill, Stanley O. Schriber,
and Benjamin M. W. Tsui. Also, the following NPSS members were first
evaluated by other IEEE societies and elected IEEE Fellows: Robert
C. Baumann, Akira Mizuno, and Bruce P. Strauss. Their biographical
sketches and descriptions of their accomplishments appeared in the
March 2005 NPSS Newsletter. Congratulations to our new fellows!
I want to thank Ron Jaszczak for serving last year as Chair of the
NPSS Fellows Evaluation Committee. Under Ron’s guidance, the
committee did a superb job as evidenced by the election of six new
fellows!
Recognizing the achievements of its members is an important part
of the mission of the IEEE. Being elected an IEEE Fellow was important
to me and one of the proudest moments of my career.
On behalf of the NPSS Fellows Evaluation Committee, we urge you
to consider making an IEEE Fellow nomination in 2006.
Peter S. Winokur, Chair, NPSS IEEE Fellows Evaluation Committee
can be reached at the National Nuclear Security Administration,
Washington, DC; Phone: +1 202 586 5480; E-mail: p.winokur@ieee.org.
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