The 2011 IEEE Awards Ceremony: An Honorable and Exciting, Yet Humbling, Experience [Letter to the Editor]

Let me begin with a confession. I have received more than my fair share of awards in my life. AP-S, my home Society of the IEEE, has bestowed upon me all the honors the Society has to offer: so much so that I was unequivocally told that I have reached the end of the road. “No more awards for you!” was the message that I got from the committee. Then, a few years ago, I was fortunate to receive an IEEE Field Award, namely the Electromagnetics Award, which is a cut above the Society-level awards. That was a big surprise - though obviously a pleasant one - because four Societies (AP, MTT, Remote Sensing, and EMC) compete for this prestigious award. Although I had some heavy-hitters for the nominators and the team of referees, I was not holding my breath, because the competition is so stiff in comparison to that for the two other IEEE medals that I had previously won. So, while I was ecstatic to learn that I had won this award in a one-shot deal, the feeling was somewhat tempered by the thought, “Hey! This is the last hurrah! The party is all but over.” Then, last year, I had what I would call a super stroke-of-luck when I received the “big daddy” of an IEEE award, namely the James H. Mulligan, Jr. Education Medal, the highest educational award of the IEEE. According to Recognition Product Inter national, the manufacturers of the medal, “the content of the medal is .999 Fine Silver, Gold plated and is valued at $2,245.00” (see Figure 1.) In addition to the medal (for a close-up, see Figure 2,) I received a check for $20,000. As you can imagine, the competition for this award is truly gargantuan, since all of the IEEE Societies can - and often do - compete for it.