Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc. (SEL) second annual Modern Solutions Power Systems Conference, will take place June 5–7, 2013, in Chicago, Illinois. The conference brings together professionals from a variety of industries and disciplines to explore common challenges, learn from successes and generate new ideas that will drive future innovation.
This year's event features three dynamic keynotes:
- Ed Schweitzer, founder and president of SEL will open the conference with a talk about creativity and innovation. He is recognized as a pioneer in digital protection and is a Fellow of the IEEE, a title bestowed on less than one percent of IEEE members. Schweitzer invented the first microprocessor-based protective relay, holds more than 70 patents, and is the recipient of the 2012 Medal in Power Engineering—the highest award given by IEEE—for his leadership in revolutionizing the performance of electric power systems with computer-based protection and control equipment.
- Michael Shellenberger, noted author and president of the Breakthrough Institute, will present "Breakthrough Environmentalism: Why Technological Innovation Is the Key to Sustainability." Shellenberger's work has been called "prescient" by Time and "the best thing to happen to environmentalism since Rachel Carson's Silent Spring" by Wired. He gained notoriety in 2004 when the essay he co-authored with Ted Nordaus, "The Death of Environmentalism," was featured on the front page of the Sunday New York Times. The piece sparked a national debate and inspired a generation of young environmentalists. Shellenberger has been profiled in the New York Times, Wired, the San Francisco Chronicle, the National Review, The New Republic, and on NPR and the Colbert Report.
- Dr. Marvin Roush, professor emeritus at the University of Maryland, senior reliability engineer at the Goddard Space Flight Center, and noted reliability expert, will present "Corporate Value Gained Through Reliability Engineering." Roush has made a career of improving reliability. While working as a professor of physics and nuclear engineering at the University of Maryland, he initiated their degree program in reliability engineering. The program's academic and research focus is based on recognizing that the performance of a complex system is affected by engineering inputs that begin at its conception and extend throughout its lifetime. Roush has worked on the Solar Dynamics Observatory and conducted analyses on nearly a dozen satellites.
The SEL Modern Solutions Power Systems Conference will take place at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago. The price is $1,000 USD per person. Register by April 15, 2013, to take advantage of the early-bird rate of $750.
