2004 IEEE Conference on the History of Electronics

THEMES AND TRANSITIONS IN THE HISTORY OF ELECTRONICS


Bletchley Park, United Kingdom
28–30 June 2004


The Fleming Centennial

The 2004 IEEE Conference on the History of Electronics (CHE2004) is the
fifth in a series of workshops sponsored by the IEEE History Committee and
the IEEE History Center at Rutgers University. The profound role
electronics have had in shaping the modern world, from the invention of the
Fleming diode to the present, makes this an important topic of historical
study.

The IEE Professional Network on History of Technology and University College
London are technical co-sponsors of the conference. These two organizations
have joined with IEEE in a celebration of the centennial of the Fleming
diode, which was the first of the radio tubes. Historians often regard this
as the starting point of the electronics industry.


Three Conferences – One Celebration

The IEEE conference will take place at the historic Bletchley Park, the
principal location of British codebreaking in World War II from Monday 28
June 2004 through Wednesday 30 June. This is an ideal site for such a
meeting with conference facilities in the Victorian mansion and historical
exhibits there and elsewhere in the park-like grounds (including a
reconstructed Colossus computer). Bletchley Park is also an appropriate
site, as it was there that the transition from electromechanical to
electronic computing occurred in the effort to decrypt intercepted messages.

Immediately following the IEEE conference, two other events will take place
at University College. The first is the University College conference on
“The Life, Work, and Legacy of John Ambrose Fleming” and the other is the
annual conference of the IEE History of Technology Professional Network.

Conference Theme

The intention of the IEEE conference is to help build a comprehensive view
of electronics history through several dozen papers, each of which
investigates some formative development in this 100-year-long history. The
developments may include the opening of a new area of application, the
invention of a major technique, or the gradual replacement of one dominant
technique by another. An important feature of this conference is the
participation of people with different backgrounds—engineers, historians,
museum curators, avocational historians—that should make discussions
particularly fruitful. The retreat-like setting of the conference should
stimulate the exchange of ideas also.

Session Themes

Some possible themes for conference sessions are the following:

The Business of Electronics
The Emergence of the Electronic Computer
Semiconductor Electronics: A Story of Continuity or Discontinuity?
Electronics in Communications
Electronics and Music
The Tools of Electronics Design
Power Electronics and Electronics in Industry
Behind the Front Panel: Forgotten Bits and Pieces of Electronics.
Standards and Technological Trajectories
Electronics in National Contexts
Electronics and Computation

Submission Guidelines

For session papers, please send the proposed title, an abstract, and a
single-page curriculum vitae to the Program Chair by email to
<[log in to unmask]> or by regular mail to IEEE History Center, Rutgers
University, 39 Union Street, New Brunswick New Jersey 08901 USA). The
Program Committee is also interested in proposals for sessions. The
deadline for paper proposals is 31 January 2004.

Registration and Accommodation

Conference registration and accommodation information will appear shortly on
the IEEE History Center website
<http://www.ieee.org/organizations/history_center/>. The conference fee
will cover two-and-a-half days of historical sessions, lunches, and
historical tours. Reasonably priced accommodations will be available in
nearby Milton Keynes.

Conference Organization

General Chair Wallace S. Read
Organizing Committee Chair Roland Saam
Program Committee Chair Frederik Nebeker

Information on Related Conferences

Information on the two other conferences that are part of the Fleming
Centennial may be obtained from John Mitchell <[log in to unmask]> or Ian
Boyd <[log in to unmask]> of the Department of Electronic and
Electrical Engineering of University College and from Susie Eva
<[log in to unmask]> of the IEE History of Technology Professional Network.

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