A scholastic honor society, IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu has numerous award programs designed to promote and encourage educational excellence in electrical and computer engineering.

The Distinguished Service Award was initiated in 1971 to recognize those members who have devoted years of service to Eta Kappa Nu (or IEEE-HKN), resulting in significant benefits to all of the society’s members. The award is based on lifetime contributions to Eta Kappa Nu (or IEEE-HKN) and is limited to one recipient each year.

he award is intended to recognize the central and crucial role of college professors in training and motivating future electrical, computer and allied field student engineers. The program attempts to identify and give international recognition to electrical, computer and allied field engineering professors who have demonstrated, early in their careers, special dedication and creativity in their teaching responsibilities.

The Outstanding Young Professional (OYP) Award—formerly the Outstanding Young Electrical Engineer (OYEE) Award—has been presented annually since 1936. It is presented to exceptional young engineers who have demonstrated significant accomplishments in their career.

The Alton B. Zerby and Carl T. Koerner Outstanding Student Award recognizes outstanding scholastic excellence and high moral character, coupled with demonstrated exemplary service to classmates, university, community, and country. This program is administered by the Los Angeles Area alumni chapter.

The Outstanding Chapter Award (OCA) recognizes excellence in IEEE-HKN chapters for their activities. The award is based on the content and description of chapter activities that are contained in the Annual Chapter Report (which summarizes the chapter’s activities from the previous academic year of 1 July to 30 June).