Tom Mitchell, Carnegie Mellon University, is the James F. Kelly Distinguished Lecturer for this semester. His talk is titled, "Never Ending Learning." James Francis Kelly February 13, 1929 - March 4, 2005 Jim Kelly graduated with a Bachelor of Science in electrical engr. from the Pennsylvania State College in Jan. 1953. Jim always said that Penn State gave him the chance he needed in life to start a career and a family. As the son of a coal miner in Dunmore, PA, Jim was the first one of his family to go to college. He always remarked on the emphasis his parents placed on getting a college education and instilled this mindset into his children. Three of us are graduates of Penn State. Jim met Marion in Scranton, PA, and the two were married in 1957. Dad integrated mom into PSU in 1959 taking her to their first football game. Traffic was a problem on game day, as they arrived late. Unfortunately, the Lions lost that day, but that didn’t deter them from attending games and class reunions for the next 30 years. Beginning in 1982, Jim started a professional relationship with the University, launching projects with numerous colleges including the Electrical Engineering Dept., Materials Research, and the Applied Research Laboratory. The rich tradition Jim set in motion continues today, as his granddaughter started at University Park, fall 2010. Jim Kelly was a life-long learner and dedicated to multi-disciplinary work. His motto was: “When someone tells me something can’t be done, I really get motivated and do it.” From an early beginning, he led a number of interesting projects as an engineer working for the U.S. Government’s U.S. Army Material Command. One of his first projects was a major break-through in computer-controlled automatic test systems for performance and

testing of circuits, assemblies, and complete systems. Theproject also provided for on-line generation, editing, and validation of test programs. The year was 1971. The EQUATE (AN/US-410) system started as a $1M contract with RCA. By1986, more than 150 systems were deployed with hundreds of thousands of written software test program sets. The wide spread adoption of EQUATE and its use across the military’s entire communications hardware suite was a testament to the impact of Jim’s ideas and his drive to use state-of-the-art technology to solve operational problems. Throughout his career, Jim focused on the latest in technology. Projects along the way included automation in epitaxial growth systems, automated control systems for the growth of silicon and GaAs boules, as well as, microwave device testing. Jim spent a great deal of time learning about new technology and how engineering analysis, measurement systems, computers and people could be linked to improve and miniaturize devices. His work on night-vision, data storage systems, laser welding systems, and coating processes all yielded advances in performance and manufacturing techniques. Jim’s use of technology also extended to home. He was an early adopter of the personal computer, but rather than go with IBM, he chose the MAC. He bought his first MAC early, went to the local Penn State branch campus, enrolled in programming classes, purchased a compiler and went to work programming. Classic Jim, instead of buying the spreadsheet software for checkbooks, he wrote his own programs, in Fortran. Eventually he converted over, but he always felt you needed to know how to do it yourself. We all remember him sitting at the kitchen table working on math problems while we toiled over our own homework. As he said, you need to keep sharp, and besides, it’s fun. Jim was a wonderful engineer, a real Penn Stater, and by starting this speaker series, we honor his memory and the joy he found in his field. —Chris Kelly