WASHINGTON (30 April 2008)-- Jean M. Eason of Fort Worth, Texas, received IEEE-USA’s highest honor during the IEEE-USA Annual Meeting at the Hyatt Regency Indianapolis on Saturday 26 April.
Eason was presented the Robert S. Walleigh Distinguished Contributions to Engineering Professionalism Award “for long-term leadership and accomplishments in IEEE-USA professional activities.” She is the first woman so honored.
Eason was one of 24 award recipients recognized for their professionalism and technical achievements, as well as literary contributions to public awareness and understanding of the engineering profession in the United States. John Meredith, IEEE-USA’s 2007 president, made the presentations.
Eason is a senior member of the IEEE who has held numerous leadership positions within IEEE-USA, including vice president, professional activities in 2005-06. She spent 15 years working in avionics systems design and now works as a consultant on specialized applications for small businesses, and in technical communications and documentation.
Robert S. Walleigh, an IEEE member electrical engineer, worked for the National Bureau of Standards -- now the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) – for more than 35 years. He retired as a senior adviser for international affairs in 1979. He worked the next 18 years as an IEEE-USA senior specialist.
The award was first presented in 1978 and renamed the “Robert S. Walleigh Distinguished Contributions to Engineering Professionalism Award” in 2000.
IEEE-USA’s distinguished awards are administered under its Awards and Recognition Committee and approved by the IEEE-USA Board of Directors. The nomination deadline for 2008 awards is 31 July 2008. For additional information, go to http://www.ieeeusa.org/volunteers/committees/awards/, or contact Sandra Kim at sandra.kim@ieee.org.
Here’s the complete list of 2007 IEEE-USA award recipients:
DISTINGUISHED PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD
Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.)
For leadership in initiating the study, Rising Above the Gathering Storm
CITATION OF HONOR
Steve Allen
For creating a self-sustaining Future City Competition for the state of Washington
Tarek Lahdhiri
For tireless efforts to further the professional development skills and career interests of U.S. IEEE members
Robert W. McClure
For lifetime contributions to engineering education program accreditation, and support of engineering licensure
Paul Meisel
For long-term support of PACE activities and motivating the development of professional programs and conferences
REGIONAL PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP AWARD
Terence B. Carr, Region 5
For promoting PACE activities and developing an online process for PACE proposals within Region 5
Greg Hutchins, Region 6
For providing insight, as well as training and development materials to IEEE-USA’s Career and Workforce Policy Committee
Maury Miller, Region 6
For leadership in coordinating follow-up meetings with the Washington State Delegation after the IEEE-USA Career Fly-In
Halden A. Morris, Region 3
For leadership in promoting IEEE-USA professional programs and goals in Region 3
Monroe B. Savage, Region 3
For leadership in rebuilding the engineering community in Mississippi and Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina
Ravi Todi, Region 3
For leadership of GOLD and PACE programs and student activities in Region 3
DIVISIONAL PROFESSIONAL LEADERSHIP AWARD
John Prohodsky, Division VIII
For leadership in creating opportunities for professional activities in the IEEE Computer Society
PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR INDIVIDUALS
Robert Menzel
For providing professional development programs in the IEEE St. Louis Section
Nita Patel
For developing the Technical Workshop Program and supporting the professional program for the 2007 IEEE-USA Annual Meeting
Kevin Taylor
For conceiving and coordinating the Future Energy Technology’s Employment Challenge career program in Detroit, Mich.
PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR ORGANIZATIONS
Dominion
For a tradition of supporting professionalism by promoting employee involvement and sponsoring IEEE activities
PRECOLLEGE EDUCATION COMMITTEE TEACHER-ENGINEER PARTNERSHIP AWARD
Moises Cases (engineer) and Christopher Benedict (teacher)
For increasing student awareness of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) at Ridgetop Elementary School
AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED LITERARY CONTRIBUTIONS FURTHERING PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROFESSION
Matt Wickenheiser
For his series, Investigative Report: Foreign Labor, that improved public understanding of visa fraud issues
ELECTROTECHNOLOGY TRANSFER AWARD
Michael J. Duarte
For technology transfer to medical diagnostics by applying digital imaging enhancement used for finding underwater objects, to detecting small lesions in mammograms
HARRY DIAMOND MEMORIAL AWARD
Meyya Meyyappan
For distinguished technical contributions and engineering leadership in developing nanotechnology applications in sensors, instrumentation and devices
SPECIAL CITATION
Boeing
For commitment to promoting diversity in the technical workforce, in partnership with IEEE-USA professional development conferences
IEEE-USA advances the public good and promotes the careers and public policy interests of more than 215,000 engineers, scientists and allied professionals who are U.S. members of the IEEE. IEEE-USA is part of the IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional society with 375,000 members in 160 countries. See http://www.ieeeusa.org.