Joel Trussell

Joel was born Henry Joel Trussell on February 3, 1945, in Atlanta, Georgia. He was called "Butch" by his family until he started first grade, at which point his mother said "His name is Joel," and so it was for the rest of his life.

His parents were Annie Bell Vandiver and Robert Ernest Trussell. In addition to his parents, Joel was predeceased by his sister Clif Trussell.

He is survived by his wife of nearly 22 years, Lynne Trussell; his sons Robert Joel Trussell (Carina) and Michael Joel Trussell (Cindy), his step-son Brian Zikmund Karasek (Claire), and step-granddaughters, Gweneth Claire Karasek and Maecy Charlotte Ortega.

Joel graduated from Grady High School in Atlanta in 1963, received his Bachelor of Science degree (Applied Mathematics) from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1967, his Master of Science degree (Mathematics) from Florida State University in 1968, and his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of New Mexico in 1976.

After working at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory in New Mexico for 11 years, Joel decided to move into the academic world. After teaching for a year at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, he accepted a position at North Carolina State University. He taught Electrical and Computer Engineering there for nearly 40 years, from 1980 to 2017. For several years, he acted as Director of Graduate Programs. He had several sabbaticals, including: Visiting Scientist at Eastman Kodak Research Labs, Color Savvy Systems, and Hewlett-Packard Labs; Visiting Fellow Commoner at Trinity College of Cambridge University (United Kingdom) and Visiting Professor at Ozyegin University (Istanbul,Turkey).

Joel was a Member/Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) from 1976 through the present. He served on the Editorial Board of the "Proceedings of the IEEE" publication from 2008 through 2012, and then served as its Editor-in-Chief from 2013 through 2018.

Joel believed in lifelong learning and exercise, was curious about nearly everything, loved walking and hiking (he climbed several of Colorado's "14ers," peaks over 14,000 feet), enjoyed craft beer and did some brewing of his own at one time. He was a good friend to many and maintained many friendships over many years. He was devoted to his graduate students and they to him. He was delighted to have two granddaughters to teach new things! He had recently joined the Chapel Hill Camera Club and enjoyed all the technical aspects of image processing, as well as the photography itself. He was very literary for an engineer, and loved to prove to Lynne that he did have a "romantic bone" in his engineer body.

He will be missed!

A Celebration of Life will be held on May 25, 2024, at 11:00am at Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship of Raleigh, 3313 Wade Avenue in Raleigh. The family will have a reception in the church following the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorial may be directed to the American Civil Liberties Union, Inc., by using the link below, under 'Donations'.

If you would like to leave a favorite memory / story of Joel, or a message of condolence for his family, you may do so below, within 'Add a Memory'.