History of technology and education: The role of associations

Professional associations of scientists or engineers often have an interest in the heritage of their fields of interest. These associations often have formal history units, which can range from a handful of older volunteers to a full — fledged operation employing professional historians. Although some associations may support or even engage in primary research, their overwhelming interest is in public history. These associations hope to make known to the general public the history of their organization, its members, their professions, and related sciences and technologies for a range of reasons that are discussed in the paper. IEEE is used as an example.