Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Regents Professor Thomas Gaylord has been honored with the IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu (HKN) Distinguished Service Award. He received the award at the 2025 IEEE Educational Activities Board (EAB) Award Presentation Ceremony on Friday, Nov. 21 in New York City.

The award recognizes Gaylord’s 46 years of dedicated service as faculty advisor to Beta Mu, the Georgia Tech chapter of HKN, the international honor society for electrical and computer engineering.

He’s served as faculty advisor for Beta Mu chapter since 1979 and was nominated by the group’s student leadership. Under his guidance, the chapter has grown into one of the most recognized HKN chapters in the world, consistently earning national honors and creating programs that directly benefit Georgia Tech students.

"Whenever we need faculty to step in and help out, Dr. Gaylord's there,” Beta Mu President Dean Sprinkle said. “He's at every officer meeting, every big event, and everywhere we need him."

Georgia Tech’s Beta Mu chapter was founded in 1941 and is one of over 250 HKN chapters worldwide. It has an annual active membership base of over 100 students and has been recognized with a national Outstanding Chapter Award every year since 2004.

Even with a small profit margin, Gaylord helped the chapter establish a permanent endowment fund in 2008. The chapter now awards scholarships each year to select ECE students.

In November 2025, the HKN students added $7,000 to this endowment, which now has a value of over $80,000.

The Beta Mu chapter also provides services and activities that benefit the student body. In 2024 the chapter celebrated the 20th year of its Lab Kits Program, which Gaylord helped establish. The program provides discounted parts for ECE undergraduate labs, supplying thousands of students with essential components even as lab requirements evolve and costs rise, making it  an invaluable service to all ECE students.

"It should really be renamed to the ECE lab kits program with how much these labs depend on us to get parts kits for their students,” Sprinkle said. “Without it, students would have to source their own parts, and TAs would be pulling their hair out when they find the student got the wrong thing or cheap out on something defective."