I received a note from Alex McEachern -- one of the godfathers of power quality -- about his latest seminar offering; this time in Boston. Alex has an extensive CV that is easily matched by his story-telling capabilities. Even if you don't know anything about electric power, it's always interesting just listening to him.
Alex is a gentle soul. When we were presenting in the same conference stream on the opening day of the 2000 PQ Conference in Boston, I nervously started off by mentioning a
1999 article in Forbes about the effects of electronic loads and power quality on the electrical grid. I wanted it to be a topical ice breaker before launching into my paper. After my presentation, Alex started his segment by firmly, but politely refuting the references in the Forbes story. He wanted to assure everyone that the article's suppositions were wrong. I felt rather chastened having learned at the feet of the master. He was not trying to find fault with me personally, he just wanted to make sure the issue was presented with all of the available evidence.
Alex was right; the article was typical of the type of bubble hyperbole that existed at the time. Within a year we were both at a much smaller PQ show in Chicago, where
Alex received a John Mungenast Power Quality Award, on September 11th, no less. If you're in the electrical design business, be it semiconductor based or not, a day spent with Alex is well worth your money. His company is called
Power Standards Lab.
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