James Webb Telescope Issue - 10

Professional Profile
The Power of a Supporting Community
Patrick O. Nunally
1992 HKN Outstanding
Young Electrical Engineer
Award Recipient
Father of the Arbitron
and Nielsen
Radio ratings system
Epsilon Phi Chapter
Ever since Neil Armstrong stepped foot on the moon, a young Patrick
Nunally had his heart set on becoming an engineer because he believed
they had the true superpowers - they put Armstrong on the moon. And
if there is one thing Nunally realized, it's that superheroes can't achieve
everything on their own.
Patrick Nunally has been a successful electrical engineer for 30 years and is
known to be many things: the father of the Arbitron and Nielsen radio ratings
system and a pioneer of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning technology
among them. His work has been recognized by the National Academy of
Television Arts and Sciences. He was awarded the 1992 HKN Outstanding
Young Electrical Engineer Award, and received a Technical Emmy for the
Arbitron Portable Meter in 2009.
Throughout his successful career, and his many notable achievements, he
still remains lifelong friends with the members of his IEEE-HKN community,
as he credits them for being a big reason why he is where he is today.
When Nunally first started engineering school, he knew it was not going
to be easy, especially since he was juggling it with a full-time job and with
actively designing a telemetry system for a training mission. Instead of
trying to navigate the waters himself, Nunally reached out to mentors for
assistance, and they ultimately introduced him to IEEE-HKN.
" Engineering school is a big life commitment, and while you're all working
hard at it, at the time, it's important to find your supporting community,
and HKN was mine, " Nunally says. IEEE-HKN gave him a safe place to be
creative, bounce ideas around, and be himself with like-minded students
who were just as in love with electrical engineering as he was, he says.
Out of all the awards and recognitions Nunally has received, he said he
believes the IEEE-HKN Outstanding Young Electrical Engineer Award is the
one he treasures the most. " It's great to be recognized by the government,
academia, industries, but to be recognized by your peers? It's a whole other
level, " Nunally says. To this day, he still values those very same people and
wouldn't have it any other way.
HKN had the honor to interview Patrick Nunally for a series of videos. You
can check out the first one, on how he got involved with Eta Kappa Nu, on
our YouTube channel. Check back for more.
THE BRIDGE
James Webb Telescope Issue

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