The Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers, Inc.
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Merrill W. Buckley, Jr.2001 Past-President
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Merrill W. Buckley, Jr. is president of the Professional Seminars Corporation, located in Springfield, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Buckley has pursued a career as an engineer, technical manager, executive, and educator. He began with the government working on advanced radar technology and airborne systems, first at the Naval Air Development Center and then at the Frankford Arsenal. Later at RCA/GE (now Lockheed Martin) he was a Project Engineer, Systems Analyst, Engineering Manager, Technical Director, Project Manager and Manager of Program Planning.
At RCA for BMEWS (Ballistic Missile Early Warning System), he coordinated the planning and progress monitoring of the major subcontractors on this top-priority Air Force contract ($1.5 billion, 7,000 people and over 2,900 second- and third-tier firms). BMEWS met all its goals by fully implementing three forward radar sites (Thule, Greenland; Clear, Alaska; Scotland, U.K.) and a U.S. command center in only 3-1/2 years. RCA and its management team, of which Mr. Buckley was a participant, received a number of Air Force citations for this accomplishment. RCA developed and provided a number of critical subsystems for the APOLLO Lunar Program (re the Rendezvous and Landing Radars for the Lunar Excursion Module and the Moon-to-Earth Communication System). Mr. Buckley led the department that integrated the planning and coordinated the efforts of RCA and its subcontractors. Successes of the APOLLO Program and RCA accomplishments have been widely documented. RCA/GE/Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the Navy's AEGIS System. This state-of-the-art, phased-array radar/missile/air defense complex is being utilized on Navy cruisers and destroyers built just for this combat system. AEGIS is a major element in the U.S. Navy fleet. It is the largest and most successful of GE/RCA defense programs. Mr. Buckley, through the leadership he and his department have given to the integrated planning and scheduling of AEGIS, contributed significantly in coordinating a most complex engineering and management effort. Mr. Buckley was the Technical Director for the initial phase of RCA's contract to standardize Test Systems for various Army Missile systems. This study formulated the equipment concepts and outlined the testing strategies that led to a whole new approach of building test systems from basic functional building blocks. One of the RCA/GE Divisions is now devoted to this major product line.
In addition to his government and corporate positions, Merrill has utilized his experience in the continuing education of engineers by creating and giving seminars on Project management, Team Building, The Systems Approach to management, Solid State Electronics, Fiber Optics, Lasers and a number of other technical and management subjects. He was the Executive Producer of the Satellite TV portion of the 1984 IEEE Centennial Technical Convocation, "A Second Century Begins."
He is a Fellow of the IEEE, recipient of the IEEE Centennial Medal, the IEEE Meritorious Achievement Award in Continuing Education and the B 'nai B'rith Engineers and Scientists Lodge Engineer of the Year Award. A member of Eta Kappa Nu, he has also received Villanova's highest Engineering Alumni Award (Morehouse) and Villanova's General Alumni Award.
Merrill chaired the National Engineers Week Steering Committee which planned the 1993 celebration, one of the most successful. In the American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES), he served as a member of the Board of Governors and on the Financial Committee. He has been a strong advocate of engineering causes for many years.
Mr. Buckley is a retired Naval Officer in Electronics and Communications and lives in Springfield, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Mary. They have 5 children.
IEEE Activities --- (M'50-SM'58-F'87)
OFFICES: Board of Directors, 1981-84, 1987, 1991-93, 1997, 2000; President, 1992; Executive Vice President, 1987; Regional Activities, Vice President, 1983-84; Region 2 Director, 1981-82; Director, Division VI, 1997, IEEE-USA President, 2000.
COMMITTEES/BOARDS: Executive, 1983-84, 1987, 1991-93; Conference Board, 1987-88; Educational Activities Board, AdCom, 1985; Finance, 1983-84, 1987, 1991-93; Foundation Board, 1991-93; Individual Benefits and Services, 1989; Long Range Planning, 1985; Nominations and Appointments, Chairman, 1993; RAB, Chairman, 1983-84, 1981-86, 1988; RAB Major Regional Convention, Chairman, 1988; Strategic Planning, 1993, Vice Chairman, 1991; TAB Transnational Relations, 1982; United States Activities Board, 1981-82, 1997; USAB Manpower, 1990; USAB Finance, 1982; USAB Pensions, 1990; USAB Competitiveness, 1993-95; USAB Awards, 1994-95; USAB 5-Year Review, Chair, 1989.
REGIONS: Region 2: 1982-86, 1989-90, Chairman, 1981-82; N&A, Chairman, 1983-86; Membership Development, Chairman, 1989-90; Sections Congress, Chairman, 1984.
SECTIONS: Philadelphia: Executive Committee, 1975-89, 1993-97; Chairman, 1979-80; Engineering Management Chapter, Chairman, 1972-76; Vice Chairman, 1977-90; Finance, 1989-90, 1993-97; PACE, Chairman, 1989.
SOCIETIES: Engineering Management: Executive Vice President, 1994-95; First Vice President, 1990; Board of Governors, 1974-97, Chapter Committee, Chairman, 1977-80; Training Committee, Chairman, 1975-76; Management Training, 1988-89.
CONFERENCES: ICC, Arrangements Committee, chairman, 1976; Publicity Chairman, 1982; Advisory Committee, 1986-88; Engineering and Systems Management Seminars, General Chairman, 1973-74; Centennial Technical Convocation, Satellite Broadcast "Second Century Begins," Executive Producer, 1984.
SEMINARS: "Basic Project Management" and "The Systems Approach to Management," sponsored by IEEE/EAB, Course Instructor, 1977-86. Satellite Courses: An Introduction to Project Management, Jan. 1982; Project Management II--Team Building and Project Leadership, Sept. 1984.
REPRESENTATIVE: AAES Board of Governors, 1991-92, 2000; Finance, 1993; International Affairs Council, 1981, 1983; UPDADI (Union Pan American Association of Engineers), 1984-86.
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Last Updated: 2 Jan. 2001
Staff Contact: Michell Scott, m.scott@ieee.org