Paul Kish: Giant and gentleman

March 14, 2013
The contributions that Paul Kish has made to the development of cabling and networking industry standards through high-level committee, subcommittee and task-group roles within the TIA, IEEE and BICSI may be surpassed only by the gentlemanly manner with which he conducts himself and goes about his work.

The contributions that Paul Kish has made to the development of cabling and networking industry standards through high-level committee, subcommittee and task-group roles within the TIA, IEEE and BICSI may be surpassed only by the gentlemanly manner with which he conducts himself and goes about his work. A former chair of TIA's TR-42 Engineering Committee and current chair of one subcommittee as well as two task groups within TR-42, Kish also currently serves as subject matter expert team leader (SMETL) for a chapter of BICSI's Telecommunications Distribution Methods Manual, and a member of the IEEE 802.3's study group on NGBase-T.

Kish, Belden's director of systems and standards, has participated in the development of TIA cabling standards since 1989, and started the process that led to the development of Category 5 component and cabling standards. From there he was a contributor to the progressive development of higher-performance cabling, from Category 5e to 6 and 6A, and the current efforts to standardize Category 8. He received the Harry J. Pfister Award in 2005.

He has spent 41 years in the cabling industry, starting his career at Bell Northern Research in 1972 upon graduation from the University of Waterloo, Ontario with a Master's degree in electrical engineering. "It has been a rewarding and groundbreaking career in the cabling industry," Kish says. "I learned early on that it is important to take the initiative to make things happen. We all have different talents and abilities. Looking back I am amazed at how much the cabling industry has grown in the last 20 years, and I am grateful to be part of it, to make a contribution. It is fun and exciting to feel young at heart, to continue learning, to discover something new, to make a contribution. It is the engine that drives the industry. How much has changed? How much is still the same? A lot has changed and a lot is still the same-the foundation that we build upon."

When invited to detail some of his own accomplishments, Paul Kish's humble demeanor emerged when he opted to share the praise. "Most of all, standards development is a team effort thanks to the contributions and dedication of all the hard-working members of the team. For that reason, TIA is recognized in the forefront of cabling standards development. I have been blessed with the benefit of working with many talented individuals to achieve common goals.

"In all our undertakings and achievements we are not alone," Kish continued. "We rely on others to help along the way. Standards development is a collaborative process involving many individuals representing different companies that devote many hours of their own time and their companies' time to develop a standard and to validate the technical requirements. Many issues are debated and resolved by consensus in an impartial and equitable manner. A colleague once said that consensus is reached when the clamor stops, when everyone is equally unhappy but is prepared to live with the result."

Kish also expressed thanks to his coworkers and management at Belden, "for the support and encouragement that I received over many years. I also want to thank all my friends and colleagues that are part of the growing and learning process, that together have made a difference in where we were, where we are today and where we are going in this industry. I only have to look at the leadership and volunteer efforts in BICSI and TIA to recognize many outstanding individuals, their hard work and their accomplishments."

Many of those same individuals look to Paul Kish for the very same reasons.

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