It was initially given to awardees who had "made public during the recent past an important contribution to radio communications".[1] The award continued to be awarded as the IEEE Morris N. Liebmann Memorial Award by the board of directors of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) after the IRE organization merged into the IEEE in 1963. The scope was changed to "for important contributions to emerging technologies recognized within recent years". After 2000, the award was superseded by the IEEE Daniel E. Noble Award.[2]