Edison Medal
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The IEEE Edison Medal is presented by the IEEE "for a career of meritorious achievement in electrical science, electrical engineering or the electrical arts." It is the oldest medal in this field of engineering.
The award is named after Thomas Edison. The Edison Medal was created on 11 February 1904 by a group of Edison's friends and associates. Four years later the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) entered into an agreement with the group to present the medal as its highest award. The first medal was presented in 1909 to Elihu Thomson. Other recipients of the Edison Medal include George Westinghouse, Alexander Graham Bell, Nikola Tesla, and Vannevar Bush. A complete list can be found here (http://www.ieee.org/portal/index.jsp?pageID=corp_level1&path=about/awards/pr&file=edisonpr.xml&xsl=generic.xsl).
After the merger of AIEE and the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE), in 1963, to form the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), it was decided that IRE's Medal of Honor would be presented as IEEE's highest award, while the Edison Medal would become IEEE's principal medal.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Institute_of_Electrical_Engineers"
History
Nikola Tesla, 'The Genius who Lit the World', received the Edison Medal in 1917. Tesla worked with Edison after he arrived in the US, but the two men were worlds apart and soon they went their separate ways again. The war of currents, AC (Tesla) and DC (Edison) that started a few years later brought animosity and bitterness to the two. It is therefore not easy to understand why Tesla accepted the medal, 'which probably honored Edison more than the recipient'. After Tesla's death in 1943, his Edison Medal went missing [[1] (http://www.teslasociety.com/missing.htm)].
External links
- IEEE Page about the Edison Medal (http://www.ieee.org/portal/index.jsp?pageID=corp_level1&path=about/awards/sums&file=edisonsum.xml&xsl=generic.xsl)
- Complete List of Edison Medal Recipients (http://www.ieee.org/portal/index.jsp?pageID=corp_level1&path=about/awards/pr&file=edisonpr.xml&xsl=generic.xsl)
- IEEE Edison Medal Committee (http://www.ieee.org/portal/index.jsp?pageID=corp_level1&path=about/awards/committees&file=edisoncomm.xml&xsl=generic.xsl)
- IEEE Edison Medal Nomination Form (http://www.ieee.org/portal/index.jsp?pageID=corp_level1&path=about/awards/noms&file=edisonom.xml&xsl=generic.xsl)