Within the histories of two long-established organizations—the Eta Kappa Nu (HKN) honor society, based in 1904, and IEEE, shaped in 1963—15 years may not appear very lengthy. Since their merger in 2010, nonetheless, greater than 40,000 members have been inducted into IEEE-HKN, 57 chapters have been shaped (30 of that are exterior the United States), and greater than US $4 million has been raised to help the event of the following technology of engineering leaders.
On 14 February 2009, Eta Kappa Nu signed a merger settlement with IEEE. It went into impact 1 September 2010, making HKN the official honor society of IEEE.
IEEE-HKN acknowledges scholarship and tutorial excellence, figuring out pupil leaders, young professionals, and eminent students in IEEE’s technical fields of curiosity.
The settlement was signed by Bruce Eisenstein, president of HKN; Richard Gowen, president of the IEEE Foundation; and John R. Vig, 2010 IEEE president and CEO. The signing occurred in the course of the IEEE assembly sequence in Puerto Rico at a ceremony attended by greater than 200 members of IEEE and Eta Kappa Nu.
In honor of the milestone anniversary, IEEE-HKN is internet hosting celebrations at a number of IEEE gatherings all over the world.
IEEE-HKN can be enthusiastic about its second annual worldwide Hackathon, to be held from 14 to 23 November, wherein groups of IEEE and honor society student members work collectively utilizing engineering ideas to resolve an issue at present dealing with the society’s chapters. Examine its first hackathon held final yr.
“HKN has all the time been student-focused, so one of many issues that it gained from IEEE was entry to its wide selection {of professional} actions, like conferences, journals, and paths for skilled involvement—which permits IEEE-HKN to help our members at each step of their careers.” —2024 IEEE-HKN President Ryan Bales
A number of movies have been produced that function folks concerned in and impacted by the 2010 merger. They embrace reflections from three HKN presidents: Steve Watkins (2018), Ryan Bales (2024), and Sean Bentley (2025).
“HKN has all the time been student-focused, so one of many issues that it gained from IEEE was entry to its wide selection {of professional} actions, like conferences, journals, and paths for skilled involvement—which permits IEEE-HKN to help our members at each step of their careers,” Bales says. “With its signature emphasis on scholarship, character, and perspective, HKN introduced its conventional ethos of service to IEEE. IEEE-HKN college students present over 100,000 hours of service per yr to their fellow college students, native preuniversity college students by STEM outreach, and neighborhood service actions.”
Bentley says that dedication “aligns with IEEE’s spirit of volunteerism, with its members giving their time to their occupation.”
He says he sees HKN’s service mentality as an essential aspect in its skill to foster engagement and create neighborhood—which in flip ends in the next proportion of IEEE-HKN college students who stay IEEE members past their pupil years.
A devoted web page lists all of the deliberate celebratory actions.
Collaborations gasoline IEEE-HKN’s development
Along with aligning IEEE and HKN’s values, the merger supplies ongoing opportunities for collaboration.
It’s evident within the rising partnerships between the 2 organizations’ pupil branches, which final yr devoted greater than 18,000 hours to collectively plan and execute 279 occasions, a 36 % improve over 2023.
There are additionally rising partnerships with IEEE societies. Greater than 20 of the societies financially backed final yr’s Student Leadership Conference, making it extra reasonably priced for college students to attend whereas giving society members the chance to share real-world technical and profession information with the following technology of engineering leaders.
“Within the spirit of One IEEE, an essential function of all IEEE-HKN conferences is that sponsoring societies have representatives readily available to encourage college students to seek out their technical dwelling,” says Nancy Ostin, director of IEEE-HKN.
This yr’s Pupil Management Convention is scheduled for 7 to 9 November on the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
The society additionally holds two digital conferences annually, Pathways to Industry and TechX, that are open to all IEEE members at a reduced charge.
This yr the merger has been celebrated at a number of IEEE gatherings together with SouthEastCon, IEEE Region 1 and Region 2 joint conferences, the IEEE Life Members Evolution Conference, and IEEE CompSac.
IEEE-HKN additionally plans to mark the milestone within the October difficulty of its Bridge journal, in addition to working with the IEEE Foundation on an anniversary campaign to boost cash for the honour society.
When reflecting on the accomplishments of the past 15 years, Ostin says, “As IEEE’s honor society, HKN’s core values of scholarship, character, and perspective align with IEEE’s strategic objectives by inspiring mental curiosity and information sharing, fostering lifelong engagement, and empowering know-how leaders. Being an HKN member is a lifelong designation, and we’re proud that our members are leaders in business, academia, and authorities, all the time on the lookout for methods to present again to our present and future college students.”
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