May 15, 2012 – The IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc) is celebrating its 60th year dedicated to the “development of communications professionals worldwide and the advance of the entire range of broadband, wireless, multimedia, data, image and voice technologies”. Founded in 1952, ComSoc currently has over 50,000 members and stands as the second-largest of IEEE’s 38 technical societies. Congratulations!

“IEEE ComSoc is a truly global organization with nearly 60% of our membership representing countries outside of North America,” explained Vijay Bhargava, the president of IEEE ComSoc. “We have achieved this accomplishment by flexibly responding to the informational demands of our members while creating an atmosphere of equitable participation that is actively producing a new generation of leaders, and the means to affordably communicate among all different sectors of humanity.”

Originally founded with the formation of IRE’s (Institute of Radio Engineers) Professional Group on Communications Systems (PGCS), the organization was officially relaunched as the IEEE Communications Society and as an independent society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in 1972.

Beginning with 8800 individuals, membership now includes more than 200 international chapters and working relationships with an additional 30 international societies to extend its international reach to another 500,000 engineers, scientists and industry professionals.

“As the world’s leading communications engineering society, we are proud to have maintained the highest professional standards, while operating in a spirit of mutual respect and collaboration,” said Steve Weinstein, chair of ComSoc’s Communications History Committee. “As a result, our intellectual community benefits not only from global coordination with peers and colleagues on the latest technical trends, but also from the opportunity to develop long-term friendships and more successful careers through a well developed network of professional activities.”

Since its inception, “and most recently under past-president Byeong Gi Lee from Korea and president Vijay Bhargava from Canada, IEEE ComSoc has facilitated its growth through an emphasis on globalization, the development of young leadership and industrial cooperation”.

Don’t forget! ComSoc is hosting the IEEE International Communications Conference next month, June 10-15, in Ottawa, Ont. CLICK HERE for details.