Posted on behalf of the New Jersey Coast Section SIGHT Group
Margaret J Lyons, PE PMP is known for her leadership, her accomplishments in engineering, and her tireless work as a Volunteer. Margaret has held a variety of IEEE technical chapter and affiliate group elected positions over the years where she has demonstrated her inspiring style, skills, and dedication. She is recognized for her many contributions for example, as a co-founder of the IEEE NJ Coast Section PACE SIGHT Group, and all associated projects, events, and activities. Margaret’s engineering accomplishments were honored in 2019 by the Radio Club of America with The Vivian A. Carr Award, in recognition of an outstanding woman’s achievements in the wireless industry. Margaret was recognized with an IEEE SIGHT 2020 Volunteer of the Year Honorable Mention Award for her enduring work as a Humanitarian Volunteer. Her humanitarian activities are dedicated to sustainable development goals and transforming the lives of the underrepresented.
Margaret has played pivotal roles, initiating, collaborating, and managing many successful and popular Volunteer activities including several of the NJ Coast Section Robot Challenges, Mini-Academies, Women In Engineering (WIE) activities, technical talks, and other important activities for Volunteers, engineers, professionals, students, stakeholders, and the community. Margaret has contributed significant resources and time to lead and assist the team to achieve many goals with great impact in the community for volunteers and the under-served people including SIGHT Group related projects such as ‘Hear, Here!,’ ‘Do Good Things: Justice For All,’ ‘Celebrating Our History: Inventing Our Future,’ etc. These efforts address hearing loss, gender equality, justice, encouraging invention, reducing disparity, promoting inclusion, accessibility, and more. She inspires people to find their own voice as a Humanitarian Volunteer.
Communication is vital for all human beings. Emphasis of the NJ Coast Section PACE SIGHT Group is this important humanitarian need. Projects aim to reduce disparity for those underserved who have hearing loss and on how hearing loss impacts experience of the Justice system. It is important to raise awareness and find solutions that are interoperable, affordable, easy to use, and function on mainstream communications networks including internet and mobile phones. In this way, solutions can help many more people than traditional expensive products such as hearing aids and dedicated hardware-based FM systems. The projects appeal to the Membership interests and skills. Section members have a a long tradition with Bell Labs and other companies in the telecom industry. The topic also connects us with other members and communities across the globe. For example, Donald Heirman, PhD, IEEE Life Fellow, a Member of our Section, has an illustrious career in Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) specifically concerned with hearing aids, mobile phones, and medical devices, played a role in founding the IEEE EMC Society, and participated in the SIGHT Group project.
Don Heirman (who we recently lost), PhD IEEE Life Fellow, IEEE EMC Society and Margaret J Lyons, PE PMP, both graduated from Purdue University.
Margaret has always found time to volunteer with professional and women’s organizations and has been honored to serve on the SWE National Board of Directors for a 2-year term in the 1990’s, serve as Radio Club of America’s Secretary since 2008 and various volunteer positions with IEEE NJ Coast Section, including being a Charter Member of that Section’s Women in Engineering Affinity Group. In 2021, Margaret has embarked on a new venture, being awarded a contract from Springer Nature to be a co-editor for Women in Telecommunications, a volume in the Springer Women in Engineering and Science series that we expect to be published in 2022.
Margaret J Lyons, PE PMP, Katherine Grace August, PhD, and Ellen Lawrence SIGHT Volunteers.