GoKawiilGerard “Gus” Gaynor, a long-serving IEEE volunteer and former engineering director at 3M, died on 9 March. The IEEE Life Fellow was 104.
Readers of The Institute might remember Gus from his 2022 profile: “From Fixing Farm Equipment to Becoming a Director at 3M.” Just last year, he and I coauthored twoarticles. One discusses how to leverage relationships to boost your career growth. The other weighs the pros and cons of pursuing a technical or managerial career path. He was 103 years old then. How many IEEE members can claim a centenarian coauthor?
I first met Gus in 2009 at the IEEE Technical Activities Board (TAB) meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico. We sat together in the airplane on our way back to Minneapolis, our hometown. At home I told many of my friends about the remarkable person—who was 87 years young at the time—with whom I chatted during our six-hour flight.
A decade later, he and I met for lunch in Minneapolis. He drove himself to the restaurant, just asking for a hand to navigate the snowy sidewalk.
A dedicated IEEE volunteer
Gus’s involvement with IEEE predates the organization. He joined the Institute of Radio Engineers, a predecessor society, as a student member in 1942. Twenty years later he became an active IEEE volunteer.
He served on the TAB’s finance committee and the Publications Services and Products Board. He was president of the IEEE Engineering Management Society (now the Technology and Engineering Management Society ), and he was the Technology Management Council’s first president. He was the founding editor of IEEE-USA’s online magazine Today’s Engineer, which reported on government legislation and issues affecting U.S. members’ careers. The magazine is now available as the e-newsletter IEEE-USA InSight.
He authored several books on technology management, published by IEEE-USA.
IEEE Life Fellow Gerard “Gus” Gaynor died on 9 March. The Gaynor Family
Most recently, after the formation of TEMS in 2015, he became an active member of its executive committee. He served two terms as vice president of publications.
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