An overview of twenty-five years of electrical and electronics engineering in the Proceedings of the IEEE, 1963-87

A survey is presented of the history of electrical and electronics engineering as seen in the 136 special issues and special sections of the Proceedings of the IEEE, from 1963 to 1987, in seven areas: circuits and devices (microelectronics and lasers and electrooptics); computers; communications; signals, systems, and control; electromagnetics; energy, power, and industry and engineering and human environment. Special attention is paid to the incremental nature of technological change, the relationship between electrophysics and electrotechnology, and the role of government funding in supporting electronics R&D. It is hoped that setting the `snapshots´ of the special issues and special sections in an historical framework will assist future researchers seeking to reach a better understanding of the electronics revolution of the post-Sputnik period