A history of the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society

In 1949 Dr. Lester C. Van Atta and 55 others signed a petition to form the IRE Professional Group on Antennas and Propagation, the third of the professional groups of the IRE. By 1953 there were 1100 members, and the Transactions started under Editor John Smyth. Participation in annual meetings began in the early 50s, and in 1963 the first of the current series of international symposia was held in Boulder, Colorado. There are now over 70 AP-S chapters worldwide. The IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society continues today in its role of communicating developments in the field begun by James Clerk Maxwell and Heinrich Hertz.