Event 1:
The person of contact for this event is Robert A. Dent, a retired Chairman of the Power and Energy Society History Committee. The event was an educational conference on technology and power engineering institutions. Mr. Robert Dent has held several technical and/or management positions at Gibbs & Hill, Inc., IEEE, New York Power Authority, and United Illuminating Company. The meeting shed light on his involvement and experience in the history and development of technology and electric power engineering, as well as his contributions to the field. I informed Mr. Dent that I am a student who is interested in learning about the role of the IEEE in research and development of power engineering systems. The interaction was highly successful because I learned about numerous issues that I did not know about the Power and Energy Society. Furthermore, it was successful because we managed to communicate to each other effectively.
Event 2:
The event was an educational talk on how cloud technology can transform the energy industry and I had the opportunity to interact with Professor Antonello Monti. Professor Monti is the Director of the Institute of Automation of Complex Power Systems. I learnt that he had an active and illustrious career in electrical engineering. Furthermore, he has published scholarly works in the field. Specifically, he has co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed articles that have been published in international journals. The interaction was successful because we were able to connect and I learnt about the need for more ICT in the construction and operations of modern power utilities.
Event 3:
The event was a presentation of an annual survey on the state of power and engineering education in Canada and the U.S. I had the opportunity to interact with Dr. Dennis Ray from the Power Systems Engineering Research Centre. The Power and Energy Education Committee of the IEEE has been conducting periodic surveys of institutions of higher education in Canada and the U.S. Dr. Ray informed me that he was once a member of a working group of volunteers that the Power and Energy Education Committee constituted. He played a major role in establishing the modalities of the survey. The interaction was a success because we discussed the importance of promoting and creating educational opportunities in the field of electrical engineering.
Event 4:
This was a conference on energy supply resiliency and reliability during a major event such as the Super Bowl in New Jersey. I interacted with Erich Gunther, and in our conversations, he revealed that he is not only the Chairman but also the co-founder and CTO of EnerNex. His work involves helping their clients to define their strategic directions in basic research and development, technology, as well as product development. I informed him about my interests in ICT applications and technologies, especially in regards to power systems. The discussion was a success because I learned a lot about the impact of power supply reliability during major sports events like the Super Bowl.
Event 5:
Primarily, the event was an open talk about the electrical power industry as well as the associated technologies. I met an employee of the Idaho Power Company. He informed me about the technical aspects of the operations within the electric power industry as well as the concerns of engineers, the expectations of regulators, and the demands of consumer groups. During the conversation, I learnt about the practical knowledge that is useful when working with individuals and organization from the electric power industry. It was a success because I learned numerous engineering concepts and ideas, irrespective of the fact that I have a limited engineering background.
