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Chris McManes Avionics Pioneer Honored by IEEE-USA WASHINGTON (29 April 2004) — Avionics pioneer Erwin (Erv) Gangl will be honored with an IEEE-USA Special Citation by 2003 IEEE-USA President Jim Leonard today at the IEEE PLANS Conference in Monterey, Calif. Gangl, considered by many to be the father of the data bus standard (Mil-Std-1553) that led to plug-and-play digital avionics, is being honored “for his collaboration with the IEEE Student Branch at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) to set up a display with IEEE-USA to commemorate the avionics developed in the first 100 years of flight.” The 100-year timeline features key developments in the electronic equipment that supports aerospace systems (avionics). It begins with the Wright Brothers famous 1903 flight in Kitty Hawk, N.C., and runs through the SENSOR CRAFT, an unmanned U.S. Air Force advanced design concept. From radar to radio communication to global positioning systems, IEEE members like Gangl have contributed greatly to the avionics development. Leonard, who is also executive vice president of the IEEE’s Aerospace and Electronics System Society (AESS), said Gangl deserved the commendation for many reasons. “First, he worked with the students at AFIT, who put the display together in a highly professional manner,” Leonard said. “Then he gained the support of IEEE-USA to set the display up at many prestigious conferences around the country. We’re so happy with the combination of the avionics and IEEE-USA displays that we’re looking to continue using them together.” The IEEE’s avionics exhibit premiered at the 100th Anniversary of Powered Flight Celebration in Dayton, Ohio, last July. It next appeared at October’s IEEE/American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ Digital Avionics Systems Conference in Indianapolis. This week it’s featured at the IEEE AESS Position Location and Navigation Symposium (PLANS) at the Hyatt Regency Monterey (Calif.). IEEE-USA is an organizational unit of the IEEE. It was created in 1973 to advance the public good and promote the careers and public-policy interests of the more than 225,000 technology professionals who are U.S. members of the IEEE. The IEEE is the world's largest technical professional society. For more information, go to www.ieeeusa.org. IEEE-USA | Top of Page | News Releases | IEEE News | IEEE | IEEE-USA | Last Updated:
29 April 2004 |