IEEE Computer Society History

Past Computer Society Presidents  |  History Committee

Origins

The IEEE Computer Society traces its origins to the 1946 formation of the Subcommittee on Large-Scale Computing Devices (LCD) of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE). Five years later, the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) formed its Professional Group on Electronic Computers (PGEC).

The principal volunteer officers of both these groups were designated chairs.The AIEE and the IRE merged in 1963 to become the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). The respective committee and group of the predecessor organizations combined to form the modern IEEE Computer Society. The society’s principal volunteer officer has been designated as president since 1971

The Computer Society celebrates its 80th anniversary in 2026.

Condensed and adapted from “IEEE Computer Society: Four Decades of Service,” by Merlin G. Smith, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center (Computer, September 1991).

Browse the IEEE Computer Society Timeline

1950-60s  |  1970s  |  1980s  |  1990s  |  2000s & Beyond

Additional Resources

• IEEE Annals of the History of Computing magazine
• CS History Committee public archive
• J.A.N. Lee’s Computer Pioneers
• Engineering and Technology History Wiki
• Computing history timeline (pdf)
• A Brief History of IEEE Computer Society Mathematical Foundations of Computing Committee and Foundations of Computer Science (pdf)
• In memoriam