A special scholarship for aspiring TV and telecommunications engineers has been named in honor of E. Noel Luddy, a decorated and highly experienced RF engineer who worked for RCA and Dielectric Communications, one of the largest providers of broadcast antennas to local TV stations in the United States.
The E. Noel Luddy scholarship is being funded by Dielectric Communications and will be awarded each year through the Association of Federal Communications Consulting Engineers (AFCCE). The fund will give up to $2500 per year to undergraduate students majoring in broadcast engineering or other related fields.
During World War II, Luddy used his ham radio skills in the military and was put in charge of all communications throughout the South Pacific. He later served for many years in several engineering capacities with RCA. In 1986, with Dielectric's acquisition of the RCA broadcast antenna business, he joined Dielectric as a consultant. There he served as a liaison to broadcast station engineers, consulting engineers and the FCC and provided a voice for the company in helping to shape federal broadcast regulations. He remained as a consultant with Dielectric until his retirement in 2008.
Luddy served on numerous broadcast industry advisory boards, including the AFCCE board of directors and as historian for the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society, which he has been a member of since 1939. And, according to Dielectric, he continues to remain active with company affairs.
“Dielectric is grateful for the commitment and contributions Noel has shared with us over the years," said Dielectric President Garrett VanAtta, adding that with the scholarship, Dielectric is hoping to help young engineers “develop the same passion, ingenuity and high standards that Noel (Luddy) has demonstrated throughout his career.”
Additional information about the scholarship and its application guidelines can be found at http://www.afcce.org/.
