(from a glossary found on www.ieee.org)
LOGO, IEEE (See Logo Usage Guidelines at XXXX )
The Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers evolved
from two separate societies, the American Institute of Electrical
Engineers (AIEE), formed in 1884, and the Institute of Radio Engineers
(IRE), established in 1912. The two groups ultimately realized that
their general interests lay together and so in 1963 the AIEE and the
IRE merged to form the IEEE. The IEEE emblem today is a culmination of
the original society emblems.
A committee headed by Alexander Graham Bell in 1893 designed the
AIEE's first member badge. Its kite-shaped outline represented Benjamin
Franklin's kite. An actual coil of gold wire marked its periphery with
midpoints spanned by a galvanometer complete with blued steel needle
and covered by an amber disc. Thus, it depicted the Wheatstone bridge,
the earliest observation of electrical phenomena by Thales, and the
source of the word electricity.
In 1897 a new AIEE logo was developed. The main focus of its design
was two linked circles that represented the relation of the electric
and magnetic fields. In 1912 the IRE chose for its logo the triangle
and arrows representing electrical and magnetic forces in the
conventional "right - hand rule" relationship.
The Institute's present logo combines recognizable features from
the original badges and is recognized worldwide as a sign of
distinction.
(published on 10/22/2007)
