Department Head: 1954-1975
Warren B. Boast began his career at Iowa State in 1934 as PhD student in electrical engineering. In 1936, he received his PhD and was hired as an instructor in the Department of Electrical Engineering. He eventually was promoted to professor in 1948, later department head, and ultimately Anson Marston Distinguished Professor in 1964.
Boast and Professor John D. “Jack” Ryder (PhDEE ’44) designed and built the first 10-kilohertz AC Network Analyzer in 1949. Boast and Ryder also designed the Electrical Engineering Building (now Coover Hall). Boast authored four books: Illumination Engineering (1942), Principles of Electric and Magnetic Fields (1948), Principles of Electric and Magnetic Circuits (1950), and Vector Fields: A Vector Foundation of Electric and Magnetic Fields (1964).
He received the Faculty Citation from the ISU Alumni Association (1971) and the Anson Marston Medal (1980). He was a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE) and the Illuminating Engineering Society. Boast also served as a consultant to dozens of Iowa towns and schools concerning lighting, wiring, and electrical circuit specifications, revisions, and upgrades, as well as president of IEEE’s National Electronics Conference (1967), member of the U.S. Delegation to the International Electronics Technology Commission (1964), and a member of the Engineers’ Council for Professional Development and its Education and Accreditation Committee (1958 to 1969).
Boast received his bachelor’s degree (1933) and master’s degree (1934) in electrical engineering from the University of Kansas.
Today, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering’s undergraduate teaching award is named in Boast’s honor.