Comfort A. Adams 1956 Edison Medalist

" . . . for pioneering achievements . . . for vision and initiative . . . and for eminence as an educa­

tor and consulting engineer."

Medal History E. P. YERKES

FELLOW AIEE

THE EDISON MEDAL presented today is the 46th in the series. The Medal is awarded annually ". . .

for meritorious achievement in electrical science or elec­trical engineering or the electrical arts." The award traditionally has consisted of three articles. The first item is a gold medal which is valuable enough, and we hope cherished enough, so that it is kept in a bank vault, sel­dom seen by the owner and never seen by others.The sec­ond one is a full-size bronze replica of the Medal which is useful as a paperweight. It is therefore likely to be found on the Medalist's desk in company with assorted bits of glass and various advertising gimmicks used for the same purpose, so that it is seldom noticed by anyone. Of course, if the Medalist is a perfect executive, nothing ever appears on his desk except a set of 12 push buttons, so that the bronze medal replica is never seen. The third article traditionally awarded is a certificate. This is some­times filed away with the Medalist's other papers and for­ever lost to view. In other cases it is framed and hung on the owner's office wall but, if so, it is hung behind him so that it is visible to visitors but rarely to himself.

This year, in place of the full-size bronge replica, the Committee decided to include another article in the award, which the Medalist can keep constantly with him, to remind him of the honor which he has received. It is a small gold disk, with a replica of the obverse of the Medal on one side and an appropriate inscription on the other. This, it is hoped, will personalize the award some­what more than has been the case previously.

The 1956 Medalist was chosen by the usual process. The Committee received proposals from various sources, including seven carried over from its deliberations of last

Presentation and acceptance addresses at the Edison Medal ceremonies held during the AIEE Winter General Meeting, New York, N. Y., January 21-25, 1957. E. P. Yerkes is engineer of equipment, eastern area, Bell Telephone Company of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.

year, and after free discussion and careful consideration, chose one of the number by secret ballot. This choice was later confirmed by polling the entire Committee mem­bership by letter ballots. The award this year is conferred upon Dr. Comfort Avery Adams.

The culmination of the Committee's work as portrayed in this ceremony is a very agreeable event, but the pre­liminary work, that which preceded the final selection, was most difficult. It is both pleasant and fairly easy to discover men whose achievements qualify them for the Edison Medal, but to search out and choose one among them supremely qualified is a very difficult and baffling assignment. The Committee is proud, and justly proud, of its work, and the present Medalist, one of the rapidly shrinking band of Thomas Alva Edison contemporaries, in joining the distinguished list of former Edison Medal-istSi confers still further distinction upon that group.

The Medalist R. J. WISEMAN

FELLOW AIEE

THE CITATION for the award of the Edison Medal to Comfort Avery Adams reads: ". . . for pioneering

achievements in the development of a-c electric ma­chinery and in electric welding; for vision and initiative in the formation of an engineering standards organiza­tion; and for eminence as an educator and consulting engineer."

This summarizes a life of 65 years in the field of educa­tion and engineering. Comfort Avery Adams started his life in Cleveland, Ohio, on November 1, 1868, 88 years ago. He obtained his college education at the Case School of Applied Science, now known as Case Institute of Technology, from which he graduated in 1890 as a Bache­lor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. At that time electrical engineering as a profession was still in its swad-R. J. Wiseman is vice-president and chief engineer, The Okonite Company, Passaic, N. J.

224 Edison Medalist ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING