EFECTOS DE DESCARGAS ATMOSFERICAS

Our issue’s theme, DC Technologies: Rapidly Emerging Solutions to Future Electric Power System Alternatives, presents a thorough and thought provoking insight into what the future of our electric power system may well encompass. Recommended, nay required, reading is Guest Editor Greg Reed’s column beginning on page 10. This eloquent and information- laden column offers the reader historical background, technical detail, as well as a glimpse into the future of our industry. In This IssueAfter reading Greg’s column several times, I realized that I could not add anything that might supplement what he has offered. So allow me to present the six outstanding feature articles that comprise our issue in the order they are presented and leave it to Greg’s column to comment on their significance.

✔✔ “High-Wire Act” by Ram Adapa

✔✔ “Platforms for Change” by Peter Lundberg, Magnus Callavik, Michael Bahrman, and Peter Sandeberg

✔✔ “Magic Bus” by Rajat Majumder, Carsten Bartzsch, Peter Kohnstam, Eric Fullerton, Allan Finn, and Wayne Galli

✔✔ “Edison Redux” by Guy AlLee and William Tschudi

✔✔ “DC, Come Home” by Brian T. Patterson

• “Ship to Grid” by Gregory F. Reed, Brandon M. Grainger, Adam R. Sparacino, and Zhi- Hong Mao.

Rapid Restoration in Niagara

Perhaps in comparison to the recent blackout that occurred in India or the

Japanese disaster, the Schoellkopf event in 1956 pales in comparison. However the loss of the Schoellkopf hydroelectric facility at Niagara Falls created a major problem for the North American electric grid in 1956. The story of the rapid restoration of service, related by Craig Woodworth and edited by Associate E ditor Carl Sulzberger in the “History” column, is one worth telling as it reveals the ingenuity and skill that was required to attain a successful resolution. Offering My Thanks In this final 2012 issue, I again wish to express my gratitude to the IEEE Power & Energy Magazine Editorial Board, to

Power & Energy Society (PES ) President Noel Schulz, and to the PES E

Xecutive Office for their support. In addition, let me offer thanks to this year’s guest editors, Manimaran Govindarasu, Pete Sauer, Mike Henderson, Hugh Rudnick, Mladen Kezunovic, and Greg Reed, for their efforts. To Associate Editor Carl Sulzberger, whose history contributions are so vital to the success of this publication, my everlasting gratitude. And to the IEEE Magazines staff, Geri Krolin-Taylor, Janet Dudar, Craig Causer, and Gail Schnitzer, whose professionalism contributes so very much to the success of our publication.

standing amid giants

recognizing our colleagues in the power field

The IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) General Meeting (GM)

(http://pes-gm.org/2012/) is an amazing event for our Society and colleagues across the power and energy field. The PES GM is actually more than five different meetings colocated in the same place. These meetings provide opportunities for our members and other professionals in the power and energy field

✔✔ to network with colleagues from around the world

✔✔ to introduce students and Young engineers to opportunities in our discipline

✔✔ to present and discuss our work

✔✔ to learn about new areas in tutorials

✔✔ to develop standards

✔✔ to honor colleagues whom have been recognized for many different contributions in our technical field.

The 2012 GM in San Diego, where over 3,100 people attended various activities associated with the conference, continued our recent recordbreaking trend. Many thanks are due to the Local Organizing Committee for providing the wherewithal to make the event the success it was. Sunday night participants enjoyed an evening of visiting with friends and making new acquaintances aboard the USS Midway. On Monday morning the conference started with an outstanding plenary session featuring presenters from San Diego Gas & Electric, NER C, EPRI, and Qualcomm offering informative summaries of state of the art in our field and pressing technical and research issues that require our attention. If you missed the plenary at the conference, you can check out the video recordings of it at http://psav.mediasite.com/mediasite/Play/0365ab3abf504c19b255c1e281a4df171d. At the beginning of this video there is an update of the“State of PES” as well.

For four days and nights we had numerous poster, panel and paper presentations; committees, subcommittees, task forces, and working groups met; and attendees took advantage of socials and breaks to discuss current events with each other. Five Super Sessions brought experts in renewable energy, energy storage, electric vehicles, nuclear energy, power system communications, and engineering in uncertain times together with a variety of issues and ideas for discussion. Videos of the Super Sessions are available at http://www.ieee-pes.org/2012-general-meet ing-supersession- videos. Two late-breaking news sessions, “Potential Impacts of Geomagnetic Disturbances (GMD) on the Electric Power System” and “Impact of Significant Grid Changes and Other Factors on Power System Reliability,” debated several perspectives of these issues as well as different technical, economic, and political solutions to solve the challenges.

However, the event that was most special to me during the week was the PES Awards and Recognition Dinner on Tuesday night where we honored PES awardees as well as new IEEE Fellows for their contributions in service, leadership, and technical areas. From 2001 to 2003, I had the opportunity to oversee the event as the PES Awards and Recognition chair. During those years, I stood in awe as professional pillars in our field were recognized for their life achievements, technical accomplishments, and countless contributions to move the field of power and energy forward. This year was very special for me as it represented my 20th year as an active member of PES, and I had a chance, as the PES president, to rub elbows with the PES awardees and their families. Four of those awardees have been close mentors during my career and have provided support in my technical and career activities.

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