Eta Kappa Nu

Eta Kappa Nu () or IEEE-HKN is the international honor society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Joining HKN is by invitation only. Membership is a lifelong designation for individuals who have distinguished themselves as students or as professionals in electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, and other fields of IEEE interest.

Eta Kappa Nu was founded in 1904 as an independent honor society for electrical engineering. It has expanded its scope through the years and it became an organizational unit within IEEE in 2010. Over 260 collegiate chapters have been chartered worldwide and more than 200,000 members have been elected to membership.

History

thumb|upright|Many HKN chapters have campus visibility through monuments such as this Bridge at the [[University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign|University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.]]

Eta Kappa Nu was founded on October 28, 1904 as the national honor society for electrical engineering students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Maurice L. Carr and nine other undergraduates formed the first chapter and developed a national structure. Their vision for the honor association combined collegiate engagement with a professional community to aid student and alumni members and to support the general profession. Character and attitude were designated along with scholarship as the three ideals to be recognized and promoted through membership and activity. Hence, HKN is concerned with more than simply scholarship and the collegiate experience.

The first century of Eta Kappa Nu began with two of the founders, Maurice L. Carr and Edmund B. Wheeler, serving as the first and second national presidents, respectively. The next chapters were organized at Purdue University, Ohio State University, and Illinois Institute of Technology. By the centennial in 2004, more than 200 student chapters as well as several alumni chapters had been chartered. These chapters have sustained records of local service and engagement activities. The national organization developed prominent awards for outstanding chapters, students, teachers, young professionals, and service in electrical engineering. The scope expanded to both electrical and computer engineering in 2000. also created a membership path for professionals and an Eminent Member recognition for career accomplishments.

The second century of Eta Kappa Nu has a continued emphasis on the original vision, but the program and structure have been modified. Its signature activities have been revised to include special attention to service and student conferences. It has formalized a relationship within IEEE as an organizational unit in which is now IEEE-HKN category was approved as the highest membership grade in 1941 and the first recognitions were in 1950. This grade is reserved for "those individuals, who by their technical attainments and contributions to society, have shown themselves to be outstanding leaders in an IEEE-designed field of interest, and great benefactors to society." Individuals must be recognized during their lifetimes for the Eminent Member category; deceased individuals may be recognized as Honorary Eminent Members. Only 144 Eminent Members and 10 Honorary Eminent Members have been recognized by the .

IEEE-HKN has an annual awards program to honor accomplishments related to the Eta Kappa Nu vision. The initial award category was created in 1932 for outstanding chapter activities. Several awards are named for important HKN volunteers. There are six award categories:

Outstanding Chapter Award
Alton B. Zerby and Carl T. Koerner Outstanding Student Award
C. Holmes MacDonald Outstanding Teaching Award
Outstanding Young Professional Award
Distinguished Service Award
Asad M. Madni Outstanding Technical Achievement and Excellence Award.

Publications

thumb|upright|The Bridge magazine 113(3), 2017. This cover with an image of Intel's UAV light-display show won a 2018 APEX Award.

The Bridge magazine is an open-access publication of IEEE and is the archival, flagship publication of IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu. Features relate to the technical, historical, and professional interests of the membership, and other content deals with the activities of the organization. Chapters, student members, and alumni are welcome to submit potential content. Alton B. Zerby, Executive Secretary 1934–1958, wrote that the magazine started “as a vehicle of communication between students and alumni.” It continues to connect students and alumni, as well as to promote the activities and recognition programs of IEEE-HKN and to highlight the development of technology and the profession. The magazine is managed by volunteers, an Editor-in-Chief, and an editorial board (a standing committee of IEEE-HKN), with assistance from the IEEE-HKN Director and other staff.

The history of the magazine dates back to the first publication of Eta Kappa Nu which was a short booklet entitled The Electric Field. This name continued until 1908. The name of The Eta Kappa Nu Yearbook was used briefly. The first use of The Bridge as the publication name occurred in 1910. The volume label was added later and the volume count dates to the publication year of 1905. The number of issues per year has varied from one to four. Originally a print publication, the magazine became electronic-only after the HKN merger with IEEE in 2010. Recent issues have won numerous international awards for excellence.

Membership

Most members are inducted as students, but distinguished professionals may be inducted as well. The guiding ideals for membership eligibility of scholarship, character, and attitude have remained unchanged since the early years. Student members join their collegiate chapter of IEEE-HKN for reasons including:

Formal recognition of academic accomplishment
Interaction with faculty and successful students
Opportunities for leadership experience
Organized service projects and service learning
Opportunities for professional development
Lifelong professional community within IEEE

Chapters

IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu collegiate chapters are present at educational institutions of higher learning across the world. These chapters are designated by a Greek letter or letters starting with the first chapter Alpha at the University of Illinois. The second chapter, Beta at Purdue University, was organized and began inducting members in 1906; however, the chapter was not officially approved by the Purdue University administration until 1913. The chapter with the Eta designation is administered by the IEEE-HKN Board of Governors for at-large inductions.

Notable members

References

Larry Dwon, History of Eta Kappa Nu, (Eta Kappa Nu Association, 1976).