An IEEE member is elevated to the grade of IEEE Fellow for "unusual distinction in the profession and shall be conferred by the Board of Directors upon a person with an extraordinary record of accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest".[1] The number of members selected for elevation to Fellow in any year is limited to at most one-tenth of one percent of the total voting membership.
The grade of Fellow first appeared in the AIEE constitution of 1912. The IRE established its Fellow grade in 1914.[2] The AIEE and IRE merged to form the IEEE in 1963, which continued the Fellow grade of membership recognition that was used by its predecessors.