2025 IEEE History Week

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and University of Galway have formally dedicated an IEEE Milestone in recognition of the invention of the Anderson Bridge, a groundbreaking invention in electrical measurement developed at the University in 1891 by Professor Alexander Anderson. Friday, September 5 2025, University of Galway, Ireland

Aboard the USS Hornet Museum, Alameda, CA Join us aboard the legendary USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum for a special STEM-Workshop Day, an event organized by the IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology (SSIT). The IEEE REACH program and the USS Hornet related technologies will be showcased in this effort. This full-day experience is designed to engage young students (ages 12-18) and their teachers with hands-on learning, historical exploration, and interactive STEM activities; all set aboard one of the most storied aircraft carriers in U.S. history. Event Details Date: Sunday, September 7, 2025 Time: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM Location: USS Hornet Sea, Air & Space Museum – Alameda, CA Admission: Free for students with valid school ID Food: Complimentary Domino’s Pizza available for all attendees This event is open to the public and created especially for students, families, and educators. No ISTAS25 registration required. Please check the above SSIT Conference STEM Workshop link for details about registration, which will be available in late July 2025.

Celebrate A Day at the Museum at AT&T Labs Auditorium and the Science and Technology Innovation Center Museum with an extensive Technical Program open to all interested in learning about such careers in technology. The program includes Technical Leaders, Students, Mentors, Teachers and Community Influencers. STEM Students are invited to participate, as there will be a hands-on demo by Thorlabs. Learn More: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/497179

The IEEE Atlanta Section invites you to a special outing at the Mimms Museum of Technology and Art, featuring a premier collection of computer artifacts. All supportive chapters include: COM19, C16, CIS11, Life Members Affinity Group, PHO36, RA24/SEN39, EMB18, PE31and Women in Engineering. Discover an incredible journey through the digital age at the Mimms Museum of Technology and Art (formerly the Computer Museum of America). Explore iconic machines, from groundbreaking supercomputers and vintage gaming systems to a real Enigma machine. Learn More: https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/490327

ASML, 77 Danbury Rd, Wilton, CT 06897 Monday September 29, 2025, 2pm-5pm This inspiring traveling exhibit explores how microchips function and the vital roles they play in electronic technology. Interactive components, such as a magnifier rail and a gesture screen, offer visitors a rare chance to look inside a microchip and engage with a rich world of rivalries, gambits, and grand designs hidden behind the plastic packaging and metal contacts. The exhibit will remain on display to ASML employees and visitors at the ASML Wilton site until November 17, 2025. An identical copy of the exhibit will open to the public at the Attleboro Area Industrial Museum in Attleboro, MA on Saturday October 11, 2025. “Microchips That Shook the World” is a highly mobile, interactive exhibit from the IEEE Global Museum in partnership with IEEE Spectrum and IEEE Foundation. Philanthropic support was provided by ASML, the IEEE Electronics Packaging Society, the Bill and Dianne Mensch Foundation, and other generous donors.

"Knowing the Past for Preparing the Future" HISTELCON contributes to reawakening the “passion for technology” which is not only a vital part of human culture, enabling a meaningful life, cultural achievements, and prosperity, but also, especially today, an “enabler” of resilience and security. HISTELCON is a flagship conference series of IEEE Region 8 held every two years and is dedicated to any aspects of the history of electrical engineering, electronics, computing, and their impact on social and economic and development. HISTELCON 2025 will be the ninth HISTELCON conference, being the first to be held in Germany. The conference official language is English, and all presentations will be oral. The conference will be hosted in the charming city of Bonn, Germany, in the Uniclub right next to the Rhine river in the center of the city.

At the IEEE Region 9 Student Branch Regional Meeting in Uruguay, Ana Karen Reyes, IEEE Photonics Society Associate VP of Global Member Outreach, delivered an engaging keynote highlighting the Society’s 60th anniversary milestones and the transformative impact of the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. Karen showcased the historical significance of photonics, from its roots in quantum electronics to its leadership in photonics innovation, and emphasized the growing role of quantum technologies in shaping the next wave of scientific research, within her work & Latin America.

The IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology (SSIT) organized on September 17, 2024, a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) WORKSHOP which was held at the premises of the National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics (INAOE) with the participation of almost 3000 individuals. In connection with this event, SSIT held its flagship event the International Symposium of Technology and Society (ISTAS) 2024 subsequently, on the 18th, 19th and 20th of September at the Universidad de las Américas de Puebla.

In this thirty-minute webinar, IEEE History Committee Chair David Michelson shares the secrets behind a successful IEEE Milestone proposal.

Silicon Valley is commonly acknowledged as the tech capital of the world. How did Silicon Valley come into being, and what can we learn for our own startups and tech hubs? How has Silicon Valley directly affected the IEEE? The story goes back to local Hams trying to break RCA's tube patents, Stanford "angel" investors, the sinking of the Titanic, WW II and radar, and the SF Bay Area infrastructure that developed – these factors pretty much determined that the semiconductor and IC industries would be located in the Santa Clara Valley, and that the Valley would remain the world’s innovation center as new technologies emerge, and be the model for innovation worldwide. Join highly decorated Silicon Valley veteran and IEEE Life Fellow Paul Wesling for this non-technical talk giving an exciting and colorful history of development and innovation that began in Palo Alto in 1909. You'll meet some of the colorful characters – Cyril Elwell, Lee De Forest, Bill Eitel, Charles Litton, Fred Terman, David Packard, Bill Hewlett, Bill Shockley and others – who came to define our worldwide electronics industries through their inventions and process development. We will profile four IEEE presidents from Silicon Valley: Fred Terman and his son Lew Terman; Bill Hewlett; and Charles (“Bud”) Eldon. You'll understand some of the novel management approaches that have become the hallmarks of its tech startups.

Join us on 9 October at 1:00 pm ET (5:00 pm UTC) for an exclusive virtual presentation celebrating IEEE History Week! The IEEE Foundation is hosting this insightful webinar, which will highlight artifacts from the past. Professor Allison Marsh, a renowned historian and writer for IEEE Spectrum, will discuss her favorite historical artifacts from her ongoing series titled "Past Forward." This series explores historical objects that highlight the limitless potential of technology. Register here: https://www.ieeefoundation.org/virtual-event/

During 2025 IEEE History Week, Dr. Mary Ann Hellrigel, will offer on-line oral history training for IEEE members on Friday, 10 October 2025, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm (EDT). To register please send an email to Mary Ann: Once you have registered Mary Ann will send you an invitation to the WebEx meeting and material to review before the training session. Registration is limited to the first twenty-five persons, so please register by 5:00 PM (EDT) on Monday, 6 October 2025. This virtual seminar is an overview of the IEEE oral history collection, the field of oral history, and best practices for conducting IEEE life story oral histories. It is the first stage of training in the peer-to-peer program (IEEE members are trained as interviewers, and working with Mary Ann, record the life story oral history of another IEEE member, potentially in their field of expertise). Advanced training stages include silent observer during one of Mary Ann’s oral history recording sessions; Mary Ann observing the interviewee in training recording an oral history; and one-on-one transcript editing tutorials. For additional information about the training session as well as the IEEE’s Oral History Collection, please email Mary Ann.