The origins of the IEE Cambridge Committee stretch back to World War II, when the IEE set up a Wireless Section in Cambridge.
The evolution of this group first into the Cambridge Area Committee of the IEE, and, most recently, into the IEE Cambridge Branch, is described below.
During World War II (1939-1945) both Cambridge University and local industry (primarily Pye and Cambridge Instruments) were researching into radio and radar, in particular devices, signal processing and displays.
To assist this effort, the IEE set up a Wireless Section in Cambridge following the request of Sir Laurence Bragg (Nobel Prize 1915), Head of the Cavendish Laboratory.
Among the first Committee were Sir Willis Jackson later Rector of Imperial College, Randall (who together with Boot had developed the Magnetron at Birmingham University), Puckle, Moullin and Ratcliffe. Also included were several members from local companies Pye, Cambridge Instruments and the Cambridge Technical College (later Anglia Polytechnic University).
Since then there have been many committee members who later achieved distinction.
Prof Coales who led the development of Elliott Computers ( part of ICL),
Prof Sir Charles Oatley who developed the Electron Scanning Microscope,
Prof Sir Maurice Wilkes who developed the time sharing Atlas Computer in Cambridge.
They also included many future professors in the University Engineering Department at Cambridge.
A H W Beck
J E Carroll
F Fallside
P S Brandon
Hooper and others.
Several others went on to become leaders of industry:
Peter Mothersole became head of the Philips Mullard Laboratory,
Dick Ellis later became Chief Engineer of Granada,
Robin Smith-Saville who founded Cambridge Signal Processors
and a number of others.
Eventually in 1975 the Wireless section evolved into the Cambridge Area of the East Anglian Centre, which it had helped to set up.
In 2000 this Centre dissolved and the Area Committed reverted to an independent IEE Cambridge with approximately 2000 members.
Some of the early lectures presented by the Wireless Section were far ahead of their time:
Radio Problems with Cyclotrons - Sir Laurence Bragg,
Polythene - Sir Willis Jackson
Post-War TV
Enemy Radar
Colour TV
Pulse-code Modulation (PCM), Dennis Gabor,
The Computer - Sir Maurice Wilkes
Radio Telescopes - Sir Bernard Lovell
The Transistor
The Mullard Radio Telescope - Sir Martin Ryle
Satellites for Communication - Bray
The Scanning Electron Microscope - Sir Charles Oatley (view a brief illustrated biography)
Information kindly supplied by Peter di Mambro, Hon Secretary, IEE Cambridge
Page prepared by David Holburn. Last updated at 12:01 on Tuesday, 20 January 2004