Two SSCS members have been honored with 2001 IEEE EAB Meritorious Service Citations. Kenneth R. Laker and Jerry R. Yeargan were cited for "for outstanding and sustained service to the aims and objectives of the Educational Activities Board." This citation was established in 1988 by the IEEE EAB to provide an opportunity for colleagues to recognize dedicated, reliable, and consistent service to the various goals of the EAB.

IEEE Educational Activities vice president Lyle Feisel presented the citation to Dr. Laker at the IEEE EAB Planning Meeting held on 25 january in Newark, NJ.

Kenneth R. Laker

"The greatest value that IEEE membership can return to members and their employers is career vitality," said Dr. Laker. "In accepting this award, I do so on behalf of the numerous IEEE volunteers who contribute their time and effort to this vitally important cause."

Dr. Laker, 1999 IEEE president, served as Educational Activities Board vice president 1994–1995. During his tenure he increased the EAB pre-college and continuing education projects. He conducted the first IEEE workshop to address the technical vitality needs of employers and employees. The 1994 Industry 2000 Workshop set the agenda for much of the EAB program for 1994 and 1995. He set the model for partnerships with other Societies and organizations, the use of grants in support of EAB special projects, and the expansion of global outreach activities.

While IEEE president, he established the $10,000 IEEE Presidents' Scholarship for the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) at the 50th anniversary of the Intel ISEF. The scholarship goes to a high school student whose project demonstrates "outstanding achievement in research and presentation of engineering knowledge in electrical engineering, information technology, or other IEEE fields of interest." The scholarship is now funded by the IEEE Foundation.

Dr. Laker is currently Alfred Fitler Moore Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the Advisory Board of PMC-Sierra Allentown, PA, subsidiary. He serves as Chair of the Trustees for the IEEE History Center and Chair of the IEEE Virtual Museum Oversight Committee. He received his PhD from New York University.

Jerry R. Yeargan

For nearly a decade, Dr. Yeargan has served and chaired a variety of IEEE EAB councils and committees. Whether outreach, nominations, planning, review, pre-college, or awards, or as an IEEE/Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) program evaluator, Dr. Yeargan has been unstinting with his time and attention. While serving as IEEE EAB vice president from 1996–97, he initiated the EAB pre-college program and established its Oversight Committee.

Dr. Yeargan has been a leader in the global expansion of university engineering program accreditation. Accreditation identifies engineering and computing programs that meet established quality criteria to the public, to employers, and to students and their parents. Being accredited is a mark of achievement for a university, helping it attract the best and brightest students. He has authored or co-authored numerous successful proposals that have provided funding for accreditation workshops in South and Central America, Germany, and Slovakia. In addition, he has coordinated a "Memorandum of Cooperation" between the IEEE and the All India Council for Technical Education.

On 3 November, Dr. Yeargan was installed as 2002 ABET president. Dr. Yeargan is currently a professor and Texas Instruments Chair of mixed-signal and mixed-signal microelectronics in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the University of Arkansas. He joined the University of Arkansas faculty in 1963. He received his PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Texas.