POSTED: October 15, 2009 By : The Emmetsburg Reporter/Emmetsburg Democrat Thomas Hanson To Receive Lord Kelvin Award In Tel Aviv Thomas A. Hanson, who grew up in Emmetsburg, has been invited to Tel Aviv, Israel, to receive the prestigious Lord Kelvin Award. It is being presented at the general meeting of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on Oct. 20. The other two recipients are from Germany and Japan. The IEC prepares international standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies. Tom received one of the first IEC awards given to an American in 2004. It is called the 1906 Award marking the one hundredth anniversary of the founding of IEC in London. Tom is honored by the Lord Kelvin Award in recognition of his substantial contributions to the IEC body of work in the telecommunications sector for optical communications. He has been active in the IEC and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for 25 years, attending international meetings. Tom has been a key contributor, author, project leader and Convenor for the body of work on optical fiber and cable, as well as optical systems. He has also ably served as a key liaison between IEC on corresponding work in the ITU ensuring smooth alignment and complimentary efforts at the international level. Hanson is recognized as one of the world’s experts in fiber optics for strength and fatigue (reliability) and polarization mode dispersion (PMD), which limits the amount of information an optical fiber can carry. In his conduct as a Convenor, Tom was exemplary in ensuring that all voices were heard. As a leader and contributor to the North American Standards group, Tom was also instrumental in the development of a large volume of industry test and measurement procedures. His contributions were key to the modern communication systems which are based on optical fiber. In his travels to meetings of the IEC and the ITU, Tom has visited most of the countries in Europe. He has been on every continent except Antarctica. He found that Istanbul and Hanoi were the most interesting places. His favorite was Cork, Ireland. Now retired, Hanson, who resides in Corning, NY, was Standards Engineering Manager and Engineering Associate at Corning Incorporated. Tom holds a BS degree in mathematics from the University of Iowa and a MS degree in statistics from Iowa State University. He is the son of Verna Hanson and the late Joseph Hanson of Emmetsburg. He graduated from Emmetsburg High School in 1970. Tom’s wife, RoxAnn, will be accompanying him to Tel Aviv. -------------------------- July 24, 2009 International Electrotechnical Commission Copyright © IEC 2009. All Rights Reserved. IEC Lord Kelvin Awards to be presented at the 2009 General Meeting Mr Thomas A. HANSON (United States of America) Tom Hanson is nominated for the IEC Lord Kelvin award in recognition of his substantial contributions to the IEC body of work in the telecommunications sector for optical communications. His efforts, directly and indirectly, have contributed to a large body of IEC work in one of the IEC’s most prolific committees. Tom has been a key contributor, author, project leader and convenor for the body of work on optical fibre and cable as well as optical systems. He has also ably served as a key liaison between IEC and corresponding work in ITU-T ensuring smooth alignment and complementary efforts at the international level. IEC INVOLVEMENT Tom Hanson has been active in IEC work for over 25 years, starting as a member of the TC mirror committee, working as a project expert, project leader and convenor principally in the field of Fibre Optics under TC86. Tom’s contributions to the success of the IEC are found in four principal areas: First, Tom has authored or been a key contributor on most of the optical communications related Standards, test methods, specifications and technical reports in TC86 and SC86A including the 60793 series, on optical fibres, and many of the IEC 60794 series as well. Today these documents are the foundation of a dynamic technical market, where the IEC work is a cornerstone for trade and commerce. Tom also has been a prolific author in the development of system level test methods in IEC SC86C, and specifications as well as a series of technical guidelines in the IEC 61280 series. Tom is recognized as one of the world’s experts in fibre optics for strength and fatigue (reliability) and polarization mode dispersion (PMD), which limits the amount of information an optical fibre can carry. His math and statistical skills led to the development of much needed models and algorithms incorporated into IEC standards which addressed one roadblock or another faced by the industry. Tom is also recognized as a metrology expert serving as an expert for TC86/ WG4 on Calibration as well as a leading contributor to the TC86 Ad-Hoc on Multimode Bandwidth Launch Conditions. Second, at the international level. Tom served as Convenor of SC86C / WG1 on Fibre Optic Communication Systems and Sub-systems, helping to bridge the interface between the IEC community of manufacturers and the external groups of users. Documents written by Tom or under the guidance of his WG facilitated the use of other IEC test methods and specifications. User guides and technical reports documented limitations and their mitigations for a new and rapidly emerging technology. In his conduct as a Convenor, Tom was exemplary in ensuring that all voices were heard and consensus reached. In one case, a contentious issue arose with two differing points of view. It was an important technical issue, understood by only a handful of experts worldwide, and the inability to reach agreement would impact the markets. Tom took the time to deconvolve the proposals made by each proponent, analyzed them in detail, pointed out errors and omissions to each and brought them back to the next WG meeting to achieve consensus on an important IEC standard. Third, Tom served as the liaison between IEC and several external groups to explain promote and harmonize the alignment of our body of work in the IEC with those groups and to ensure that, in the preparation of the IEC work, their needs and concerns were clearly heard. Tom was the liaison between IEC TC86, SC86A and SC86C to ITU-T SG15 on Optical Transport. His efforts were key in ensuring that IEC TC86 Standards are widely referenced in the ITU-T SG15 Recommendations. He also deserves much credit for ensuring that many of the discontinuities that emerged between the systems Recommendations in ITU and the Product Standards in IEC were reconciled. Fourth, at the national committee level, Tom has been a proponent for the IEC work in the mirror committee of TC86 and its subcommittees for over 25 years, and chair of the SC86A mirror committee for approximately 13 years. In addition, Tom has been a member of the National Committee mirror body for the SMB since its creation. He has been instrumental in facilitating effective NC involvement at the expert level and led the NC efforts to rewrite the mirror committee policy and process rules. Tom was one of the first recipients awarded the IEC 1906 award by TC86 at its inception in 2004. OTHER STANDARDIZATION ACTIVITIES As noted previously, Tom has been an effective liaison and ambassador for TC86 work to and from other IEC committees, national standards groups and external groups including ITU-T. Tom has served in an expert capacity for some work undertaken in IEEE 802 on modelling and limitations of optical transmission. Tom has served as Rapporteur of ITU-T SG15 (Optical Transport) Question 5 on Optical Fibres and Cables for approximately seven years. Tom has also served as chair and subsequently vice chair of the Telecommunications Industry Association Subcommittee TC42.12 on Optical Fibers and Cables and in its predecessor body, FO-4.2. As a leader and contributor of a key North American Standards group, Tom was also instrumental in the development of a large volume of industry test and measurement procedures known as FOTPs. These documents preceded the IEC work and served the industry well before agreement was reached on IEC standards. Subsequent to the publication of IEC test procedures, Tom was instrumental in replacing many of the FOTPs with identical national adoptions of the IEC document. PROFESSIONAL / STANDARDIZATION ASSOCIATIONS MEMBERSHIP Tom has been recognized by his employer, Corning Incorporated, by being named an Engineering Associate. This distinction is awarded to a limited number of employees for the body and impact of their contributions and is selected by a peer review process. GENERAL Tom holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Iowa and received a master's degree in statistics from Iowa State University. The Battle Of Left & Right By: Anna Jean Lang Holmes I sit back and think of people that have come into my life at different points and try to compartmentalize the who, what, when, where's and whys. It's a copping mechanism I use to understand that most things in life happen for a reason. What are the pros and cons, the benefits or consequences of knowing them in my life? When we met, we were faced with the typical power struggles often found between stepparents and stepchildren. As you might expect my stepfather & I are as opposite as left & right, I was a right brain creative and he was dominated by a technical left brain. This complicated things just a bit, but we found our way thought it by finding common interest. One day there was a discussion about were to hang a painting in the home, It was a framed print of Van Gogh's sunflowers, I'm sure it was his because I had not seen it before. I just sat back thinking to myself "who cares where it hangs" like a typical young teen. Anyway it seemed to be important that in hang in the same room as the television. That evening at the dinner table I asked "what's the big deal about the art print anyway?" He simply said "It's one of Van Gogh's sunflowers and I like it". I had no idea who this Van Gogh guy was so I checked into it at the school library. From that day on I was truly hooked on Van Gogh's art. Thinking back on things now, I can see the importance of where the art print should hang and the irony of it all. Vincent had quite an attachment to the flowers personally. In the year before his death he wrote to his brother 'It is a kind of painting that rather changes in character, and takes on a richness the longer you look at it… This print hung on the wall opposite of his chair where he spent hundreds of hours littering miles of fold out computer paper with number after number. I can't help but wander if he found calm when gazing into Van Gogh's work, which allowed his mind to identify problems and find solutions in his own work. He also introduced me to the work of MC Escher another favorite artist of mine. And again I had to explore this Escher guy at the school library .It didn't take me long to learn that he loved the math behind the work and I loved the image of the work. I also found Escher to be humors and intriguing as well as talented, as the quotes below reflect. "Only those who attempt the absurd will achieve the impossible. I think it's in my basement... let me go upstairs and check" "To have peace with this peculiar life; to accept what we do not understand; to wait calmly for what awaits us, you have to be wiser than I am" M.C. Escher was a man studied and greatly appreciated by respected mathematicians, scientists and crystallographers yet he had no formal training in math or science. He was a humble man who considered himself neither an artist nor mathematician. We continued to struggle, a constant tug of war between left and right. Both being a bit stubborn we marched on. Back then we were not totally surrounded by the modern marvels of today; We of course had a computer in the house, it was a Texas instruments keyboard hooked up to a television and it had a few games on it. But I was mostly used for programming and such. We played a lot of board games while listening to music on a record player; he has an amazing collection of albums. I was born in 1968 and so my knowledge of music at the time consisted of southern rock, disco and pop .I had from time to time heard some of the music he listened to, but it really wasn't main stream. The more I listened to it the more I liked it. To this day when ever I hear a song by the Beatles I think of him. I was in seventh grade when he taught me how to play backgammon; I instantly fell in love with the game. And as for us it was a positive way to battle. Backgammon is the perfect mixture of luck and skill, a balance of strategic moves and risk taking. Yet another common ground for the left and the right. He also taught me how to play other games which have been constant in my life. Such as Risk & Othello (reversi) We continued to find common ground in art, games and music, and eventually we reached a clam understanding for one another. In some odd way I think we learned from one another. So as you can see behind the numbers is a man, who introduced me to art, games & music? He opened my mind through simple things allowing me to truly find the talents of my right. In a sneaky manner opened my left allowing me to benefit from all that life has to offer.