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GridWise Architecture Council elects new members

03/04/2008

Richland, Wash., March 4 – Three noted energy and information technology experts have been elected to the GridWise Architecture Council, a group sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy to advance interoperability among the many entities that interact with the nation’s electric power system.

The new members are former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Commissioner Nora Mead Brownell, information systems architect Alexander Levinson and home and utility systems consultant Kenneth Wacks.

Brownell is a strong proponent of national energy infrastructure development. She is a past member of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and consults with industry and governments worldwide on the restructuring of energy markets and the creation of independent regulatory commissions. She is principal of BC Strategies and serves on the boards of several energy-related organizations.

Levinson has more than 30 years experience in designing strategies for large-scale information system architectures and associated technology infrastructures for military, commercial and financial systems. He is a Lockheed Martin Fellow and is chief software architect for the $2.02 billion Transformational Satellite known as TSAT.

Wacks is a pioneer in the home systems industry and advises electric industry clients worldwide. He contributed to the development of standards for networking home appliances for the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers and chairs an international committee that is establishing world standards for home automation. Wacks also participates in several other home and building automation standards efforts.

Re-elected to the 13-member council were Ron Ambrosio, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, Rik Drummond, Drummond Group, Erich Gunther, EnerNex Corporation, Stephanie Hamilton, Southern California Edison, and Lynne Kiesling, Northwestern University. Returning members include Joseph M. Bucciero, KEMA, Inc., Dave Hardin, Invensys Process Systems, Jack Mc Gowan, Energy Control Inc., Russell Robertson,  Tennessee Valley Authority, and Richard Schomberg, EDF International.

GWAC members serve staggered two-year terms and are selected from industry and academia for their leadership in power systems, information technology, telecommunications, financial systems and end-use electricity consumption. The goal of the council is to articulate the guiding interoperability concepts and principles that support the GridWise vision -- the transformation of the nation's energy system into a rich, collaborative network filled with decision-making information exchange and market-based opportunities.