Edmund O. Schweitzer III (born 1947,

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, ...

) is an electrical engineer, inventor, and founder of

Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. (SEL) designs, manufactures, and supports products and services ranging from generator and transmission protection to distribution automation and control systems. Founded in 1982 by Edmund O. Schweitzer ...

(SEL). Schweitzer launched SEL in 1982 in Pullman, Washington. Today, SEL manufacturers a wide variety of products that protect the electric power grid and industrial control systems at its three state-of-the-art U.S. manufacturing facilities in Pullman, Washington; Lewiston, Idaho; and, Lake Zurich, Illinois. SEL products and technologies are used in virtually every substation in North America and are in operation in 164 countries. Recognized as a pioneer in digital protection, Schweitzer has been credited with “revolutionizing the performance of electric power systems with computer-based protection and control equipment, and making a major impact in the electric power utility industry.” In the late 1970s, Schweitzer served on the electrical engineering faculties for Washington State University and Ohio University. He was elected a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

in 2002 for technical innovation in power system protection and technology transfer leading to the commercialization of products in the electric power industry. He holds the grade of Fellow in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a title bestowed on less than one percent of IEEE members, and received the IEEE Medal in Power Engineering in 2012., the highest award given by the IEEE, for his leadership in revolutionizing the performance of electrical power systems with computer-based protection and control equipment. Schweitzer has been honored by his alma maters with awards including the Outstanding Electrical and Computer Engineer Award (

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mone ...

), Graduate Alumni Achievement Award, and recognized by WSU Board of Regents as the 45th Distinguished Alumnus. (

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant uni ...

). Additionally, he holds honorary doctorates from the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo Leon, in Monterrey, Mexico, and the Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, for his contributions to the development of electric power systems worldwide. A prolific writer and inventor, he has authored dozens of technical papers in the areas of digital relay design and reliability and holds more than 200 patents worldwide pertaining to electric power system protection, metering, monitoring, and control. Schweitzer obtained a B.S. (’68) and M.S. (’71) from Purdue University and a Ph.D. (’77) from

. He comes from a family of inventors. His grandfather, Edmund Oscar Schweitzer, earned 87 patents. He invented the first reliable high-voltage fuse in collaboration with Nicholas John Conrad in 1911, the same year the two founded Schweitzer and Conrad, Inc., today known as S&C Electric Company. His father, Edmund O. Schweitzer, Jr., earned 208 patents. He invented several different line-powered fault indicating devices and founded E.O. Schweitzer Manufacturing Company in 1949. The company has since become part of Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories. Schweitzer and his wife Beatriz are active philanthropists. They support numerous causes related to education and caring for those in need. For example, in 2018, they pledged 3 million dollars to their Alma Mater, Purdue. $1.5 million going to the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering to endow a professorship, and another $1.5 million to support the school’s power and energy systems research area.

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External links

MIT BioUIUEC Bio

Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schweitzer, Edmund O. III 1947 births American electrical engineers 20th-century American inventors 21st-century American inventors Date of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Evanston, Illinois Purdue University alumni Washington State University alumni 20th-century American businesspeople Engineers from Illinois