Table of Contents

1. IEEE Globally
2. IEEE in Victoria Australia
3. IEEE Victorian Section History Committee
4. History of the IEEE Victorian Section
5. Prehistory
6. IEEE Region 10
7. IEEE In Australia
8. IEEE In Victoria/Tasmania
9. Past Section Officers
10. Major IEEE Awards to Victorian Section Volunteers & Groups
11. Past Section Officers
12. Annual Reports
13. Uplink Journal
14. ANZSCON
15. Historical IEEE Documents
16. History of Technology in Victoria and Australia

IEEE Globally

IEEE – Advancing Technology for Humanity

The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) is the world’s largest technical professional organization for the advancement of technology.  IEEE and its members inspire a global community to innovate for a better tomorrow through its more than 400,000 members in more than 160 countries, and its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities. IEEE is the trusted “voice” for engineering, computing, and technology information around the globe.

The IEEE History Committee, a committee of the IEEE Board of Directors is responsible for promoting the collection, writing, and dissemination of historical information in the fields covered by IEEE technical and professional activities, as well as historical information about IEEE.

The IEEE History Center is located at the IEEE Operations Center in Piscataway, New Jersey, USA.  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 the research library and archives, by appointment only. To make an appointment, please contact [email protected] and see the Center’s location and contact information.  Most of the Center’s resources are available online at the Engineering and Technology History Wiki. The Center’s holdings include the IEEE Archives which consist of the unpublished records of IEEE and a collection of historical photographs relating to the history of electrical and computer technologies and a collection of oral history transcripts of pioneering engineers. The Center runs several other programs, internships and fellowships relating to the history of IEEE and its technologies. The Center’s activities are documented by its Newsletter, published three times per year.

• IEEE – IEEE History Center
• IEEE – History Center: Events
• Engineering and Technology History Wiki (ethw.org)

Source: https://www.ieee.org/ and IEEE History Center

IEEE in Victoria, Australia

The IEEE Victorian Section serves over 2,000 members and was founded in 1975 as a subsection of the Australian Section and became an independent section in 1983. The Tasmanian Sub-Section is also a part of the Victorian Section. The Victorian Section comprises of a number of Technical Chapters, Student Branches and Affinity Groups that typically organise over 100 events per year including technical talks, workshops, short courses, conferences, industry engagement, networking and social events throughout the year.

Source: IEEE Victorian Section

IEEE Victorian Section History Committee

The IEEE Victorian Section History Committee seeks to provide resources related to the history of the IEEE Victorian Section as well as information related to the history of electrical, electronics, computing, IT and related technology in Victoria.  We welcome suggestions for activities, site visits, talks or additional material of relevance to add to the resources and hyperlinks provided below.

The IEEE Victorian Section History Committee consists of:

• Dr Yuvaraja Visagathilagar (Chair) – [email protected]
• Anthony Gascoigne 
• Enn Vinnal 
• Alan Harvey
• Anas Shaikh

History of the IEEE Victorian Section

The IEEE Victorian Section began originally as a sub-section in 1975 to the then ‘Australia Section’. It was primarily driven by staff from the now historic Telecom Australia (Telstra) Research Laboratories located in Clayton. The 1975 IEEE President, Arthur Stern, visited Australia in October 1975. In late 1975, as a result of an earlier petition, the Victorian Sub-Section was formed. The Victorian sub-section was active for around 3 years and then became dormant. The old sub-section was rejuvenated and was re-formed as a Section on 12 August 1983.

Prehistory

• 1884 – American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) formed
• 1912 – Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) formed
• 1913 – First issue of IRE Proceedings (later Proceedings of the IEEE)
• 1963 – IEEE formed from merger of AIEE and IRE

IEEE Region 10

• 1968 – Creation of IEEE Region 10. Chair of steering committee and founding Director Shigeo Shima (Japan)
• 1977 – James J. Vasseleu (NSW) appointed Region 10 Director
• 1980 – First Region 10 Technical Conference (TenCon) held in Hong Kong
• 1983 – Harry E. Green (SA) appointed Region 10 Director. Alan J. Gibbs (Victorian Section committee) Region 10 Secretary/Treasurer
• 2007 – Janina Mazierska (Past Chair, North Queensland Section) appointed Region 10 Director(first female incumbent)

IEEE In Australia

• 1972 – IEEE Australian Section established in Sydney (Aug 16). James J. Vasseleu founding section chair.
• 1976 – Victorian Sub-Section approved by HQ, but nil recorded activity until 1981.
• 1981 – Victorian Sub-Section re-established (Oct 20)
• 1983 – Victorian Sub-Section becomes Section (Aug 12)
• 1984 – WA Section formed (May 24)
• 1985 – Queensland Section formed (Feb 22), IEEE Australia Council established (May 30), Former Australian Section renamed NSW Section(May 30), SA Section formed (Aug 23)
• 1988 – ACT Section formed (Nov 18).
• 1994 – North Queensland Section formed (Jan 29)
• 2008 – Former North Queensland Section renamed North Australia Section
• 2009 – Tasmanian Sub-Section formed within Victorian Section (Feb 14)

IEEE In Victoria/Tasmania

• 1975 – Petition circulated for the formation of a Victorian Sub-Section of the (then) Australian Section. The Petition was subsequently approved, but there is no record of local activity until 1981.
• 1981 – Victorian Sub-Section re-formed following a Special General Meeting held in Melbourne (October 20). One hundred and fourteen (114) Victorian Section members in attendance, together with Max J. Simons representing the Australian Section. Brian G. Love (IBM Australia) was confirmed as Interim Sub-Section Chair.
• First formal meeting of IEEE Victorian Sub-Section Committee (December).
• 1982 – IEEE President Robert W. Larson visits Victoria. Larson also presented a lecture on Control Theory before a meeting of Victorian Sub-Section.
• 1983 – IEEE Victorian Sub-Section upgraded to Section status (Aug 12).
• 1983 – Colin Kline was the first Student Branch Councillor at the Ballarat College of Advanced Education (now known as the University of Ballarat), circa 1983.
• Symposium on Women in Engineering and Computer Science held in Melbourne (Aug 23), jointly sponsored by IEEE Victorian Section and IEAust. Electrical & Communications Engineering Branch, Victoria Division. This was (arguably) the first women-in-engineering event of its type held in Australia.
• 1984 – IEEE Centennial Medals awarded to Prof. Douglas G. Lampard (Monash U.) and Ian P. Bates (SECV).
• Visit of IEEE President James B. Owens and General Manager Eric Herz
• First issue of Victorian Section Newsletter (no masthead title). Anthony E. Gascoigne, editor.
• Communications Chapter established (Apr 4); L. John Millott (Telecom Australia) founding chair. This was the first technical chapter of IEEE in Victoria.
• Inauguration of EEEVIC inter-society cooperative scheme on initiative of IEEE Victorian Section.
• 1985 – Computer Chapter established (Jul 8). Prof. Peter C. Poole (University of Melbourne) founding chair.
• 1986 – First issue of Victorian Section Journal Uplink (June). Anthony E. Gascoigne, editor.
• 1988 – Power Engineering Chapter (later Power & Energy Chapter) established (Jan 19). Harry McDonald (CitiPower) founding chair.
• 1989 – Death of Brian G. Love, founding Section Chair (May 17).
• 1990 – Engineering Management (later Technology Management) Chapter established (May 14). Robin A. Court (Telecom Australia) founding chair.
• 1991 – Victorian Section membership passes 1000.
• Raymond A. Jarvis elected IEEE Fellow on nomination by Victorian Section.
• 1992 – Region 10 Technical Conference (TenCon’92) held in Melbourne (Nov 11-13). Kevin Forward (University of Melbourne) and Bala S. Kumble (Telecom Australia) joint conference chairs. This was the first TenCon held in Australia.
• 1993 – 100th committee meeting of IEEE Victorian Section (April)
• 1994 – First issue of revamped section newsletter Uplink** (March). Chris W. Dobson, editor.
• Death of Prof. Douglas G. Lampard (Sep 01). Lampard was a member of the original IEEE Australian Section committee, a founding member of Victorian Sub-Section and Section committees, and an IEEE Centennial Medallist.
• 1995 – Visit of IEEE President Tom Cain with Past President H. Troy Nagle (date)
• 1996 – Dalma Novak (University of Melbourne) elected Section Chair (first female incumbent).
• 1997 – Communications Chapter wins the IEEE Chapter of the Year Award 1997. Award later presented to 1997 Chapter Chair Enn Vinnal at Sections Congress ’99 in Vancouver.
• 1998 – Rodney B. Waterhouse (RMIT University) appointed as the first Student Activities coordinator in Victorian section.
• EMBS Chapter formed (May 28). Brian J. Lithgow (Monash University) founding chair. AP/MTT Chapter formed (Jun 19). James R. Scott (RMIT University) founding chair. ED/LEOS (later Electro-Optics) Chapter formed (Oct 7). Dalma Novak (University of Melbourne) founding chair.
• Globecom’98 conference held in Sydney. Prof. Hugh Bradlow (Telstra) conference chair; Enn Vinnal (Victorian Section) conference secretary.
• 1999 – Dalma Novak (immediate past Victorian Section Chair) elected Chair of IEEE Australia Council (first female incumbent).
• University of Tasmania Student Branch formed (Dec 27). Nil recorded activity of this subunit to present date (2011).
• 2000 – Eleven (11) Victorian Section members awarded IEEE Millennium Medals (see Appendix A). Certificates presented at a commemorative dinner in Carlton (Jun 16). 2001 Signal Processing Chapter formed (Dec 20). Robert Slaviero (Analog Devices) founding chair.
• 2002 – Circuits & Systems Chapter formed (May 20). Jugdutt Singh (Victoria University) founding chair.
• 2003 – Monash University Student Branch formed (Sep 12). Shamim S. Hossain founding chair.
• Computational Intelligence Chapter formed (Dec 12). Nalamswami Mani (Monash University) founding chair.
• 2004 – University of Melbourne Students WIE Affinity Group formed (Sep 21). Chia-Yin (Jennifer) Che founding chair.
• 2005 – WIE Affinity Group formed (Jul 22). Irena Atov (Telstra) founding chair.
• GOLD Affinity Group formed (Jul 31). Charlotte N. Marra founding chair.
• Education Chapter formed (Sep 29). Iouri Belski (RMIT University) founding chair.
• SSIT Chapter formed (Dec 9). Greg Adamson (ANZ Bank) founding chair.
• TENCON’05 Conference held in Melbourne (Nov 22-24). Prof Hugh Bradlow (Telstra) conference chair; Enn Vinnal (Telstra) conference vice-chair. This was the fifth TenCon held in Australia and the second in Victoria.
• 2006 – EMC Chapter formed (Jan 27). T. Malcolm Mulcare founding chair. WIE Affinity Group gets Honourable Mention in the 2006 Affinity Group of the Year competition.
• RMIT Students WIE Affinity Group formed (Nov 2). Wai Chee Yau founding chair.
• 2007 – University of Melbourne Student Branch formed (May 9). Peng Hao founding chair. SSIT Chapter upgraded to “Joint Australian Sections Chapter” hosted by Victorian Section (effective May 30)
• 2008 – Twenty-fifth anniversary celebrations of IEEE Victorian Section (VIC25). Anniversary dinner held in Carlton (Sep 29). Distinguished guests included R10 Director Janina Mazierska and visiting DL fred. harris (UCSD).
• Victoria University Student Branch formed (Sep 29). Leila Koushaeian founding chair
• 2009 – Tasmanian Sub-Section formed (Feb 14). Greg P. Timms founding chair. One hundred and twenty-fifth anniversary celebrations of IEEE founding society (AIEE) Re-launch of section newsletter (Uplink series III) (May). Alan L. Harvey, editor. Irena Atov elected 2010 Chair of IEEE-WIE Standing Committee (global)
• 2010 – Australia New Zealand Student Congress (ANZSCON 2010) held in Melbourne (Nov 25-26). VIP delegates included IEEE 2011 President-Elect Gordon W. Day. La Trobe University Student Branch formed . Eddie Custovic founding chair.
• 2012 – Dr. Greg Adamson Elected as Chair of Victorian Section, Vehicular Technology Society formed – Dr. Mehran Ektesabi innagural chair
• 2013 – Anthony Gascoigne elected as Chair of Victorian Section
• 2014 – Joint Oceanic Engineering Chapter formed
• 2015 – Edhem (Eddie) Custovic elected as Chair of Victorian Section,
• 2016 – Alan Harvey elected Chair of the Section
• 2020 – Mehrnaz Shoushtarian elected Chair of the Section
• 2022- Robert Slaviero elected chair of the section

Past Section Officers

Major IEEE Awards to Victorian Section Volunteers & Groups

Annual Reports

• IEEE Victorian Section Annual Reports

Uplink Journal

• IEEE Victorian Section Uplink Journal

ANZSCON

The IEEE Australia-New Zealand Student Congress (ANZSCON) was held in Melbourne from 24-26 November 2010. This inaugural event was designed to promote networking and interaction between IEEE student members from Australia and New Zealand. Distinguished guests included Joseph V. Lillie, IEEE Treasurer and Executive Committee member, and Gordon W. Day, IEEE President-Elect for 2011.

Historical IEEE Documents

History of Technology in Victoria and Australia

Additional hyperlinks by a variety of organisations and authors related to the history of electrical, electronics, computing, telecommunications and IT-related technology in Victoria and Australia are presented below with many thanks and acknowledgments to their authors and providers:

Victoria

1. National Communications Museum (Victorian Telecommunications Museum / Telstra Museum)
2. CSIRAC, The First Computer in Australia, 1949-1964 – Museums Victoria
3. Current History: The Electrical and Electronic Engineering Collection by Richard Gillespie, The University of Melbourne
4. 60 Years of Computing in Victoria by The University of Melbourne
5. Computing in Melbourne: A Historical Tour by Graham Farr, et al, Monash University
6. Henry Sutton, the Innovative Man: Australian inventor, scientist and engineer by Lorayne Branch – Royal Historical Society of Victoria

Australia

1. The History of the IEEE in Australia by David E. Burger
2. The IEEE in Australia, Historical Overview by David E. Burger
3. Electricity in Australia: 1880-Present by Frank Brady AM (CIGRE)
4. Video: The History of Electricity in Australia by AEMO
5. Electrical & Electronic & Telecommunications History Milestones in Australia by David E. Burger
6. Electronics Innovations in Australia by All About Australia
7. A Vision Splendid: The History of Australian Computing by Graeme Philipson, ACS