The Engineering Awards were presented as part of the 2000 Primetime Emmy Awards on July 11, 2000 at Universal City. Engineering awards are presented to companies whose developments are an extensive improvement on existing methods or are so innovative that they materially affect the overall quality of television.

The Dorrough Loudness Meter was based on a combination of traditional and basic concepts, the VU and the PPM. Once combined, Dorrough incorporated linear 1-db steps through the scale, added altered ballistics to produce real time peaks and created a 12-db window designed to visually demonstrate the balanced loudness between the average and peak.

The need for better balance of loudness control in real time situations, such as transmission and recording, led Dorrough Electronics to create the meter. Its diverse applications include extensive use in post-production facilities, a quality-control device in most television stations, and a necessary monitoring device in cable and satellite facilities. The Dorrough Loudness Meter has eleminated the confusion of VU alone or PPM alone and can be found in technical facilities throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

Discriminate audio processing is at the heart of practically every major audio processor being marketed today. Thanks to his pioneering work, broadcast audio can sound excellent not only on small radios, but also on the most expensive home and automobile systems. In addition to his work in the field of audio processing, Dorrough invented the Dorrough Loudness Monitor with a patented technology developed to give broadcast and recording engineers a true indication of "loudness" as perceived by the human ear. The audio loudness monitor is now in use worldwide in radio production, motion picture production, posting, music mixing, and dubbing applications.