The Future Has Happened Before: How History Helps Engineers Respond, Innovate, and Lead

Monday, 5 October, 2026
10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. ET

Every technological revolution feels unprecedented. History tells a different story. 

For more than 40 years, the IEEE Life Members’ Fellowship in Electrical History has supported doctoral and postdoctoral scholars researching the history of electrical engineering and technology.  These fellows have probed the ways in which global societies have applied electrical and electronic technology to shape business, politics, and culture.  

Join former IEEE History Fellows Mary Ann Hellrigel, Hyungsub Choi, Damilola Adebayo, and Michelle Spektor, moderated by W. Bernard Carlson, for a lively conversation sharing perspectives about the technological turning points that have transformed our world, from electrification and computing and beyond.

Drawing upon their research and teaching, the panelists will explore what history can teach today’s engineers. History is more than what has happened. The past illustrates how societies respond to technological change, where innovation can lead, and how we can help ensure technology advances humanity.

More Than An Invention: How Patents Shape Technology, Politics, and Society

Thursday, 8 October, 2026
12:00 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. ET

A patent may begin with an invention, but its impact rarely ends there. Through stories spanning telecommunications, computing, satellites, and American identity, four historians of patent law: Christopher Beauchamp, Gerardo Con Diaz, Haris Durrani, and Kara Swanson explore how law and technology have shaped each other, how patents influence the world beyond the inventions they protect, and what the patent battles of the past can tell us about the choices we face today.