Edward W. Kimbark
- Birthdate
- 1902/09/21
- Birthplace
- Chicago, IL, USA
- Associated organizations
- Bonneville Power Administration
- Fields of study
- Power
- Awards
- IEEE William M. Habirshaw Award
Biography
Edward W. Kimbark was born on September 21, 1902, in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in Evanston, Illinois, on the shore of Lake Michigan. He attended the College of Engineering of Northwestern University in Evanston from 1920 to 1925 and received his Doctor of Science Degree in 1937 from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Dr. Kimbark's primary profession in life has been that of a teacher of Electrical Engineering. He has taught at the University of California (Berkeley), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, and Northwestern University. During World War II he taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Radar School, and later he was Dean of Engineering at Seattle University.
A highlight of Dr. Kimbark's career in education was teaching for four years at the Technological Institute of Aeronautics in São José dos campos, Brazil, where he was also Acting Head of the Division of Electronics for two of the four years. He conducted all classes in Portuguese. While living in Brazil, he enjoyed many hobbies, including horseback riding through the back country.
Dr. Kimbark came to work for the Bonneville Power Administration in 1956 as an Electrical Engineer in the Branch of System Engineering. He formally retired on September 30, 1976, and since then has been working on a temporary part-time basis for the Bonneville Power Administration as a consulting engineer.
Dr. Kimbark has been a member of IEEE and its predecessor AIEE since 1927, attaining the grade of Fellow in 1948. He has also been a member of CIGRE since 1948.
He was a well known author of books on power system stability, transmission of power and signals, and direct-current transmission. He has also written many technical papers and discussions.
Among Dr. Kimbark's many interests was that of amateur radio buff. He was a member of the American Radio Relay League and passed on telegraphic messages by spark transmission on his radio station 9AMZ. Another topic of interest for Dr. Kimbark has been the development of artificial international languages.
Dr. Kimbark's wife, Iris, was also employed at the Bonneville Power Administration. He and his wife resided in Portland, Oregon.
