Bob Swayne Presenting at 2016 Pennsylvania Professional Engineers Conference
In the last 50 years, almost every major city across the country has been affected by a blackout. On Friday, September 23rd at 9:45am, Bob Swayne, PE, LEED AP, LC, will present “Powerless – A History of the Nation’s Major Power Blackouts” at the 2016 Pennsylvania Professional Engineers Conference.
November 9th, 2015, marked the 50th anniversary of one of the largest electrical power blackouts in the United States – the Great Northeast Blackout of 1965. During this blackout, 30 million people were left in the dark, including all of New York City. Though significant government intervention and massive planning to prevent future blackouts followed, New York went dark in 1997, and again in 2004. Bob’s presentation will cover the history of major blackouts in the U.S., their causes, and what happens in the aftermath – including the impact a blackout has on communities. He will also discuss the U.S. power grid, it’s three separate systems, and who watches over this nation-wide power web on which we all depend.
A Chief Engineer with Burns, Bob has over 40 years of electrical engineering and design experience with a variety of industrial, commercial, and educational facilities. He has been an active Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) member for over 29 years, and served as Chair of the IEEE Power & Energy and Industrial Application Society (PES/IAS) Joint Chapter in Philadelphia. Over the years, Bob has also been involved in National Electric Code making panels, standards committees, and technical subcommittees. Bob has truly established himself as a knowledge leader in his field and among his peers.
Learn more about the Pennsylvania Professional Engineers Conference here.