The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers has selected Mark McGranaghan, vice president of Power Delivery and Utilization for the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), as its 2014 Charles Proteus Steinmetz Awardee.
The Steinmetz Award was established by the IEEE Board of Directors in 1979. It is presented to an individual for exceptional contributions to the development or advancement of standards in electrical and electronics engineering.
McGranaghan leads the teams responsible for EPRI's research involving technologies, systems, and practices for power delivery systems from generation to end use. These efforts are at the forefront of defining technical paths to a grid that offers enhanced flexibility, connectivity and resilience.
A look at the next stage of grid development was addressed earlier this year when EPRI unveiled a seminal white paper, The Integrated Grid: Realizing the Full Value of Central and Distributed Energy Resources. This report makes the technical case for a future power system that enables the best features of central generation and distributed energy resources. EPRI is now completing work on a benefit-cost study to achieve an integrated power system.
McGranaghan has long worked for improvements in the electric system. “Mark’s influence is significant in issues such as power system harmonics and power quality areas including flicker, voltage sags, and transients,” said Mike Howard, EPRI president & CEO. “Mark has pioneered standards related to connecting distributed generation sources to the power grid, among the most important power-engineering standards of the past decade.”
From 2003 to 2010, McGranaghan was a director in the Distribution and Smart Grid areas for EPRI. Priorities during this period were restructuring of the distribution research program, coordinating EPRI research in the smart grid area with government and industry efforts and creating the smart grid demonstration initiative, which includes utilities in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Ireland and Japan.
McGranaghan earned a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in electrical engineering the University of Toledo, and Master of Arts degree in business administration from the University of Pittsburgh.
McGranaghan received the Steinmetz Award last night as part of IEEE’s Power & Energy Society annual meeting at National Harbor, Md., near Washington, D.C.
IEEE's purpose is to foster technological innovation and excellence for the benefit of humanity. IEEE has more than 430,000 members in more than 160 countries. In the evaluation process for the Steinmetz Award a few of the criteria considered were engineering accomplishments and responsibilities, publications (such as books, standards, papers, conferences), and IEEE activities.
Steinmetz, a mathematician and electrical engineer, was central to the development of alternating current, opening a door to the expansion of the electric power industry in the United States.
